BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY – The St. Francis Brooklyn men's basketball team (15-11, 7-6 NEC) defeated LIU Brooklyn (11-14, 5-8 NEC), 83-76, and earned a regular season sweep of the Blackbirds tonight in the 44th annual Battle of Brooklyn. The win marked the Terriers 19th all-time in the Battle of Brooklyn series and their first since the 2015-16 season. Graduate guard
Glenn Sanabria was named the game's MVP after he scored 17 points to lead the Terriers.
St. Francis Brooklyn earned its league-leading 15th win of the season, which is tied for its most since the 2015-16 season. Head coach
Glenn Braica has now guided St. Francis Brooklyn to 15 or more wins in a season six times during his tenure in Brooklyn Heights. It was the first time the Terriers earned a regular season sweep of the Blackbirds since the 2014-15 season.
The Terriers improved to 9-2 at home with the victory. The nine wins are tied for the most in the NEC, and the 9-2 record is the best record in home games among league members.
The win on Valentine's Day marked the Terriers' fourth win in a row when playing on the holiday. It was only the second time since the 1949-50 season that the Brooklyn rivals went head-to-head on Valentine's Day and the first time that the Battle of Brooklyn matchup was held on February 14. The Terriers are now 2-0 against LIU Brooklyn on Valentine's Day.
LIU Brooklyn led by as many as six in the first half as it was out in front, 23-17, with 9:26 to play. The Terriers knotted the game up at 23-23 on back-to-back three-pointers by Sanabria and junior guard
Rosel Hurley. The Terriers closed the first half on an 8-0 run as they took a 37-33 lead into halftime. Sanabria scored 17 points to lead the Terriers in the opening half of play.
After a back and forth first half of play, the Terriers and Blackbirds continued to battle in the second. Sophomore guards
Chauncey Hawkins and
Jalen Jordan paced St. Francis Brooklyn in the second half as they each scored 14 points in the frame. Both guards finished with 16 points apiece as the backcourt trio of Sanabria, Jordan, and Hawkins combined for 49 of the Terriers' 83 points.
The Blackbirds made runs in the second half, but the Terriers responded every time that they gained a bit of momentum. St. Francis Brooklyn led by as many as 11 points in the second half en route to outscoring the Blackbirds, 46-43, in the final frame. Hawkins knocked down a key three-pointer with 54 seconds left to give the Terriers an eight-point lead that they would not relinquish.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
St. Francis Brooklyn – 83 | LIU Brooklyn – 76
- Sanabria scored a team-high 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field and went 5-of-8 from behind the arc. The five made threes are a season-high for Sanabria as he was just two shy of tying his career-high of seven. The guard scored all 17 of his points in the first half, which marked the most points that he has scored in a single half this season. The guard also added five rebounds, three assists, and three steals in 35 minutes of play. It was the sixth game in a row that Sanabria scored in double figures.
- Hawkins came off the bench to score 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting and went a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. The guard scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half as he was extremely efficient in 18 minutes of play. It was the fourth time in his last five games that he tallied 10 or more points in a contest.
- Jordan also poured in 16 points with 14 coming in the second half of the game. The guard shot 6-of-10 from the floor and converted 3-of-4 from three-point range.
- Hurley scored 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field and went 2-of-4 from three. The guard's two threes were a season-high as he converted just one all season before tonight's contest. He added five rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes.
- Junior forward Deniz Celen and senior guard Keon William each chipped in quality minutes for the Terriers. Celen posted eight points, seven rebounds, and three blocks. Williams earned his second start of the season and scored seven points, two of which came on a fast break dunk in the second half.
- The Terriers move to 6-0 when scoring 80 or more points in a game.
- It was the seventh time this season that St. Francis Brooklyn converted 10 or more threes and the third time this year that they made 12 or more in a game.
UP NEXT:
The Terriers wrap up their four-game homestand on Saturday, February 16, against Central Connecticut State at 4 p.m. on Athletics Alumni Day.
Graduate guard Glenn Sanabria named 2019 Battle of Brooklyn MVP
