BROOKLYN, NY – The St. Francis College Brooklyn men's basketball team (4-7, 4-6 NEC) fell to LIU (7-5, 7-5 NEC), 96-84, on Monday at the Steinberg Wellness Center. The Sharks came away victorious despite Terriers' graduate guard
Travis Atson and junior forward
David Muenkat both posting career-highs in points.
The Terriers and Sharks opened the game up with the same up-and-down pace that was on display in the teams' first meeting on January 30. LIU began the contest on a 7-0 run, which St. Francis would answer with a 9-0 run of its own. The Terriers and Sharks traded baskets until the under-12 media timeout. From that point forward LIU built its lead and would take a 53-34 advantage into the halftime break.
St. Francis stormed back in the second half and began the stanza on a 16-5 run over the first 6:03, which cut the Sharks' lead to 58-50. Muenkat cut LIU's lead to eight with 13:57 to play in the second half, which forced the Sharks to call a timeout. From that point forward, the Terriers' had their spurts, but LIU was able to add to its leads as it closed out its second win of the season over St. Francis.
The Terriers had four student-athletes finish in double figures as they scored over 80 points for the sixth time this season. Atson and Muenkat each finished the game with career-highs in points. Atson poured in 24 points, while Muenkat tallied 21 points. Junior forward
Vuk Stevanic recorded 12 points, while sophomore guard
Rob Higgins totaled 10 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
St. Francis Brooklyn – 84 | LIU – 96
- Atson recorded a game and career-high 24 points on a highly efficient 10-of-12 shooting from the field and went 4-of-6 from three-point range. The Brooklyn native went a perfect 6-of-6 from inside the three-point line. He pulled down five rebounds and dished out three assists in 35 minutes of play. It was the second time this season that Atson scored 20 or more points in a game (scored 21 points at CCSU on Dec. 15).
- Muenkat registered his first career double-double with a career-high 21 points and career-best 11 rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench. The forward shot 10-of-16 from the field. His 10 made field goals and 16 field goal attempts were both career-highs. He dished out two assists and blocked two shots as well.
- Stevanic scored 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. It was the third time this season that the forward scored in double figures and the 12 points tied a career-high.
- Higgins scored 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field. The guard also grabbed two rebounds and dished out two assists in 33 minutes. He has scored in double-digits in nine out of 11 games this season and has done so in six of the Terriers' last seven games.
UP NEXT:
The Terriers make their annual trip to Loretto, PA, to face Saint Francis (PA) on Thursday, February 11, at 7 p.m., and Friday, February 12, at 4 p.m. Both games will broadcast on NECFrontRow.com.
