Liu Brooklyn is back in the Northeast Conference title hunt.
The two-time defending league champions, a long shot just two weeks ago after starting 0-3 in the NEC and losing reigning player of the year Julian Boyd to a torn ACL, won their fourth straight contest Thursday night, 78-68, over rival St. Francis in the Battle of Brooklyn.
It was a dramatic comeback in front of a standing room only crowd on the Terriers’ home court in downtown Brooklyn. The Blackbirds trailed by as many as 14 points early in the second half before a furious barrage of 3-pointers and transition baskets sent them to their fifth straight victory over the Terriers, ninth in the last 10 contests and seventh straight at St. Francis.
“The whole year I’ve used the word resilience; we’ve shown a lot of resilience,” senior forward Jamal Olasewere said after LIU exploded for 57 second-half points on 75 percent shooting. “When we’re down, we don’t give up. That’s just Blackbird basketball.”
With the win and NEC-leading Bryant’s loss to Sacred Heart, LIU is just two games off the pace with plenty of season left.
“We’re just trying to get better, trying to create our own identity,” LIU coach Jack Perri said. “We had to change our identity a little bit with Julian out. We’ve really focused on defense and rebounding in practice. Our last few games we did a good job with that.”
After shooting just 1-of-10 from beyond the arc in the first half, the 3-ball carried LIU to victory. The Blackbirds (9-10, 4-3) made 7-of-11 attempts from distance in the second half — most of them during a rapid-fire 26-6 run —- as C.J. Gardner (game-high 22 points) and Brandon Thompson (14) caught fire. Olasewere had his way in the paint, scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, and point guard Jason Brickman added 11 assists.
“He started to find everybody,” Gardner said of Brickman. “It really got us going, He’s a great passer, best passer I’ve ever played with, best passer I’ve ever seen.”
Even LIU’s defense, a season-long weakness, was strong after halftime, limiting St. Francis to 38 percent shooting. They challenged shots and cleaned up the defensive glass, which led to fast break opportunities they cashed in.
“We’re an explosive team; you add a little defense and it changes everything,” Olasewere said.
With each 3-pointer, LIU seemed to gain confidence, getting back the swagger it had in reaching the NCAA Tournament the last two years. After one 3-pointer, Gardner eye-balled the red-clad St. Francis crowd and playfully smiled as he jogged downcourt.
“It’s morphed into these guys figuring out what they need to do and C.J. getting more aggressive,” Perri said. “You start gaining some confidence when you get some wins and it snowballs. Right now we’re in that mode.”
Jalen Cannon had 21 points and 10 rebounds for St. Francis, which is tied for third place in the NEC with LIU after dropping another contest to its nemesis.
“It was like two different games,” St. Francis coach Glenn Braica said. “We need to step up in that situation instead of letting the game unfold [like it did].”