Sports

LIU earns first win, beating Columbia

Basketball in Brooklyn is booming.

Two days and one mile separated from the Nets’ overtime win over the Knicks, the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds triumphed in their first inter-borough battle of the season, taking down Columbia, 70-61, last night at the WRAC.

The two-time defending NEC champions picked up their first win of the season (1-4), following road losses at Maryland and Kentucky, and extended their win-streak to 28 games at the WRAC, while avenging a 10-point loss to the Lions last season.

Columbia (4-3), which picked up a surprisingly decisive road win at Villanova last week, remain the only Ivy League team with a winning record this season.

“You don’t sleep a whole lot regardless, but it feels great to get off the schneid,” said LIU first-year head coach Jack Perri. “We’ve been preaching defense for obvious reasons. Our team defense has been porous at best. We show we’re capable in stretches, but if we can get consistent with our effort we’re gonna be a tough team to beat.”

After holding the high-powered Blackbirds offense to their lowest point total last season, the Lions’ 2-3 zone was stifling in the first half, limiting LIU to 24 points. But Columbia couldn’t counter, shooting 34.8 percent in the half, while scoring only 19 points among three players, unable to capitalize when LIU’s Julian Boyd, the reigning NEC Player of the Year, picked up two early fouls.

The Lions used their size-advantage to pull within one midway through the second half, behind senior center Mark Cisco’s season-high 18 points and 13 rebounds, but were unable to keep pace with LIU’s up-tempo attack. Boyd led all scorers with 19 points, but junior guard Jason Brickman, who had 16 points and six assists, sealed the game from beyond the arc, hitting 4 of 5 3-pointers.

“He’s the head of the monster and he was tough tonight,” Columbia coach Kyle Smith said of Brickman.