BLACKBIRDS SOARING: After defeating No. 2 seed Wagner in the NEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday, E.J. Reed, dunking two of his 13 points in the victory, and LIU Brooklyn go for their third straight conference tournament title tonight at home against Mount St. Mary’s. (Christopher Pasatieri)
When LIU Brooklyn fell to the No. 3 seed in the Northeast Conference Tournament, it seemed to ensure the two-time defending champion would endure its toughest road to the title after two springs hosting every NEC postseason game.
The Blackbirds nearly stumbled at the start in the quarterfinals against No. 6 Quinnipiac, but a second-half comeback led to a 91-83 win and sent LIU to Staten Island for a meeting with No. 2 Wagner. After shooting 65.3 percent in an offensive clinic featuring six double-digit scorers and a 94-82 win, LIU awaited the winner of top-seeded Robert Morris and fifth-seeded Mount St. Mary’s.
In a season nearly destroyed by player suspensions, a season-ending injury to Julian Boyd, last year’s NEC Player of the Year, and a six-game losing streak, first-year coach Jack Perri had seen enough obstacles suddenly jut out to halt the team’s quest for the conference’s first-ever three-peat. Surely, if the Blackbirds were going to make history, they would have to travel 390 miles to near Pittsburgh to face Robert Morris — the opponent from the past two title games.
Instead, a Mount St. Mary’s upset brought tonight’s NEC title game (7:00, ESPN2) back to Brooklyn for the third straight year, where the Blackbirds hold a 39-4 record at the WRAC over the past three seasons.
“Mount St. Mary’s, they’re a tremendous team and are hot as hell right now, so it’s going to be a difficult test, but I’m glad that we didn’t have to travel,” Perri said. “What a break we caught there. Finally, we caught a break this year.”
Instead of the top team, the Blackbirds (19-13) will play the league’s hottest team. The Mountaineers (18-13) have won nine straight games, having split two games with LIU and winning most recently at home, 83-71, on Feb. 21. Perri said his team, which had won 10 of 11 entering that game, let its guard down, something the Blackbirds have never done in three years of do-or-die conference tournament games.
LIU’s experience is unmatched, particularly among its top three players — senior forward Jamal Olasewere (NEC Player of the Year), junior Jason Brickman (nation’s leader in assists) and senior guard C.J. Garner — but the coach hopes the Blackbirds still have enough of what makes challengers more dangerous than champions — desire.
“[Mount St. Mary’s] is going to be really hungry,” Perri said. “It’s great we’re at home and have experience, but it doesn’t mean you’re going to win. We need to have the same mindset as them as far as being hungry.
“We’re just preparing the right way, not looking too far ahead or thinking what could be. But this would be an incredible thing. If these guys could persevere through everything, I think it would be more special than the two previous ones.”