BROOKLYN, NY – The St. Francis Brooklyn men's basketball team (12-7, 4-2 NEC) picked up its third win in a row with a 79-70 defeat of LIU Brooklyn (9-9, 3-3 NEC) on the road. The three-game winning streak is tied for the longest of the year for the Terriers, who also won three in a row earlier this season (November 24-December 3).
The Terriers earned their first win at the Steinberg Wellness Center since January 23, 2016. The win marked the team's fifth on the road this season, the most since the Terriers won six road contests in 2015-16. St. Francis Brooklyn now has 12 wins overall, which are the most in the NEC. The Terriers' five road victories also lead the league.
St. Francis Brooklyn was paced by a hot-shooting first half where it outscored LIU Brooklyn, 50-31. The Terriers came out firing on all cylinders as they began the contest on a 13-1 run right out of the gate. LIU Brooklyn was forced to burn an early timeout with 16:12 to play in the opening frame.
Following the timeout, LIU began to chip away at the early 12-point deficit. However, the Terriers could not be slowed down in the first half as they shot a collective 58.6 percent from the floor and 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from three-point range.
Jalen Jordan picked up right where he left off on Saturday as he dropped 17 points in the first half. Jordan knocked down 5-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range.
The Blackbirds came out in the second half on a 17-2 run that lasted the first eight minutes of the half. St. Francis Brooklyn weathered the storm as
Deniz Celen, and
Glenn Sanabria led the team down the stretch. Celen scored eight points on 4-of-6 shooting in the second half, all eight of his points came consecutively as he was highly efficient around the rim.
Sanabria closed out the victory by shooting 7-of-10 from the free-throw line in the second half. LIU Brooklyn cut the Terriers lead to as little as four in the second half, but the Terriers would never relinquish their advantage as they sealed their 12th win of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
St. Francis Brooklyn – 79 | LIU Brooklyn – 70
- Jordan finished the game with a team-high 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field and went 4-of-7 from three. The guard pulled down seven rebounds and dished out three assists in 36 minutes of play. It was the second game in a row that he tallied 20 or more points in a game and the seventh time this season that he did so. The Terriers are 6-1 when Jordan scores 20 or more points in a game. Jordan has scored in double figures in 16 out of 18 games this season. His seven rebounds are the most that he's pulled down in a game since he recorded a career-high tying eight at Boston College on November 11.
- Celen recorded a career-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and pulled down five rebounds in 18 minutes of action. Celen was very efficient from inside the arc as he shot 8-of-8, converting at a perfect percentage around the basket and inside the paint. He scored eight-straight points in the second half which helped the Terriers pull away from the Blackbirds down the stretch. It was the fifth time this season that the forward scored in double figures and the second time he's gone for double digits in conference play.
- Sanabria finished with 15 points, four assists, and three steals. The guard shot 3-of-12 from the field and 7-of-12 from the free-throw line. Sanabria knocked down all seven of his free-throws in the second half. He increased his career points total to 1,182.
- Junior guard Rosel Hurley added eight points on 3-of-6 shooting and grabbed five rebounds in 29 minutes.
- The Terriers held the Blackbirds to just 15.9 percent shooting (3-of-19) from three-point range. It was the sixth time over the last seven games that the Terriers limited an opponent to under 30.0 percent shooting from three.
- With the win, the Terriers improved to 9-1 when leading at halftime, 11-2 when shooting 40.0 percent or higher from the field, 9-0 when committing fewer turnovers than their opponent, and 7-3 in day games.
UP NEXT:
The Terriers continue their five-game road trip as they head to Fairleigh Dickinson for a Thursday night matchup at 7 p.m. in Hackensack, NJ.
