Men’s Basketball Falls in Battle of Brooklyn, 83-76

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team fell to St. Francis Brooklyn Thursday night, in the 44thAnnual Battle of Brooklyn at the Pope PE Center, 83-76. The Blackbirds, who were led by 22 points from sophomore Ty Flowers, move to 11-14 overall and 5-8 in the Northeast Conference with the loss. LIU started the game on a strong note, using a three pointer from Julius van Sauers to go up 5-2 in the early minutes. From there, the Blackbirds were able to widen the lead in part because of back-to-back threes by Ty Flowers, which would widen the lead to 13-8 at 16:16. Sophomore Eral Penn then had a big series of plays for the Blackbirds, making a huge block on defense, and following that up with a dunk on offense that kept LIU up, 18-12. But the Terriers kept coming, and eventually tied the game up with a three pointer, 23-23 with 8:26 to play in the first half. LIU would keep the edge, but eventually, a three pointer at 1:43 gave the home team its first lead of the day, 34-33. St. Francis Brooklyn would hold on to the lead from there, using a 10-3 run to end the half with a 37-33 lead over the Blackbirds heading into the break. LIU would come out in the second half, and see layups from Julian Batts and Jashaun Agosto to start the period, as the Blackbirds rallied to tie it back up, 37-37 at the 18 minute mark. But the home team would score five straight points to take the lead back, and held on from there. LIU would threaten the Terriers at various times; Jashaun Agosto, Raul Frias and Flowers would put together an 11-4 run that cut the lead to just four points, 57-53, with 8:36 to play. But SFBK's Jalen Jorden then hit back-to-back three pointers to widen the lead back up to ten points, stymieing LIU's momentum. Late in the half, Flowers would hit a jumper and Batts would hit three free throws at 2:31 that closed the lead to 71-68, but Jordan hit another three, and Chauncey Hawkins would add one a minute later that gave the home team a cushion in the final minutes. Though LIU would continue to attempt a comeback in the final seconds of play, SFBK converted shots at the free throw line, and clinched its first Battle of Brooklyn win since 2016, 83-76. NOTES FROM THE NEST

Sophomore Ty Flowers had a game-high 22 points, going 9-for-15 from the field and 4-for-5 from three point range. He also had eight rebounds.
Junior Julian Batts added 18 points, five rebounds and five assists, while senior Raiquan Clark had 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Sophomore Eral Penn had eight points, and tied his career high with four blocks, while junior Jashaun Agosto had eight points
Every player scored for the Blackbirds in the loss.
SFBK was led by four players in double figures – Battle of Brooklyn MVP Glenn Sanabria had 17 points to lead his team, while Jorden (16 pts) Hawkins (16 pts) and Hurley (13 pts) rounded out the scoring for the Terriers.
Up next, LIU hosts Sacred Heart for a single Saturday game, February 16 at 2 p.m.