Sharks heating up for NEC slate

Remain unbeaten in Brooklyn with rout of visiting Army

December 22, 2021 John Torenli, Sports Editor

Senior Eral Penn and the LIU Sharks are getting hot at the right time. The team will open NEC play Dec. 29 at Sacred Heart. Photo courtesy of LIU Athletics

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The preliminaries are over.

Now, the Long Island University Sharks will finally get to test their collective mettle against the rest of the Northeast Conference.

Though they went just 3-7 in non-conference action, the Sharks finished up strong with consecutive home wins, including Sunday’s 90-65 win over Army at Downtown’s Steinberg Wellness Center.

Reigning NEC Player of the Week Eral Penn spearheaded a balanced LIU attack with a season-high 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting in just 21 minutes of court time.

The senior forward and Brooklyn native got plenty of help as all five Sharks starters finished in double figures in scoring to help LIU improve to 3-0 at home this season with its first back-to-back wins of the year.

“Full credit to LIU,” Army head coach Jimmy Allen said. “They played very well and shot the ball well. We didn’t respond the way we needed to when we fell in a hole.”

Ty Flowers added 17 points, fellow grad student Isaac Kante had 15 points and 11 rebounds, Tre Wood finished with 11 points and Kyndall Davis had 10 for the Sharks, who will kick off the league portion of their schedule Dec. 29 at Sacred Heart in search of their first road victory of the season.

Penn, who earned his second career Player of the Week honor, ranks third among all NEC players with 15.2 points per game.

The Sharks will also visit Merrimack on New Year’s Eve before returning to host their home conference opener Jan. 6 vs. Mount St. Mary’s.

The still-winless LIU ladies were hoping to end a season-opening 10-game slide Wednesday vs. Lafayette College on Flatbush Avenue. The Sharks will begin their NEC slate at home vs. Sacred Heart on Dec. 29.

Over on Remsen Street, the St. Francis Brooklyn men’s basketball team was denied a shot at its fourth consecutive win Sunday as its scheduled contest against visiting Longwood was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.

The SFC Brooklyn men’s basketball team had Sunday’s scheduled contest vs. Longwood postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. Photo courtesy of SFC Brooklyn Athletics

The Terriers (3-8) were scheduled to visit UMass-Lowell on Thursday afternoon before traveling to Merrimack on Dec. 29 to open their NEC schedule vs. Merrimack.

SFC will return to Brooklyn Heights on New Year’s Eve to host Central Connecticut State.

The SFC ladies closed out their non-conference sked with a 76-63 loss to Monmouth at the Pope Center on Monday.

Ally Lassen scored 17 points, Nevena Dimtrijevic added 16 points and nine assists and Alyssa Fisher finished with 15 points for the Terriers (4-6), who had their scheduled contest vs. visiting Loyola on Thursday canceled.

SFC is still expected to open NEC play at home vs. Merrimack on Dec. 29.

The SFC Brooklyn women’s basketball team will play their NEC home opener on Remsen Street vs. Merrimack on Dec. 29. Photo courtesy of SFC Brooklyn Athletics

The Brooklyn College women’s basketball team, off since losing at No. 21 NYU on Dec. 12, will resume play Dec 29 vs. Stevens College in Hoboken, N.J., in the opener of the Stevens Tournament.

The BC men hope to improve on their 1-10 start to the campaign when they visit Ramapo College on Dec. 30.

The Bulldogs’ CUNYAC opener will be played on Jan. 4 at John Jay College.