BROOKLYN, N.Y.- LIU's Jaytornah Wisseh's six free throws down the stretch sealed the Blackbirds 82-78 victory over visiting Monmouth on Tuesday night, spoiling a 13-point Hawk comeback. The loss drops the Hawks to 12-16 overall and 7-9 in the NEC, while the Blackbirds improve to 10-17 and 6-10 in the league.
Long Island rode a wave of three-pointers in the first half to lead by as many as 13 points on two occasions, before a late 9-0 Monmouth run pulled the Hawks within three points late in the stanza.
Monmouth led 8-5 after a Mike Shipman layup off a pass from John Bunch with 15:33 on the clock, but the Blackbirds answered with a 9-2 run to grab a 14-10 edge as Eugene Kotorbai connected on three free throws with 13:35 showing.
LIU inflated the lead to double-digits when Kotorbai hit his third trifecta of the half, making the score 26-16 with 9:12 left, and a traditional three-point play from Paulius Morkeliunas gave the Blackbirds a 13-point advantage at the 8:39 mark, capping a 9-0 run.
After LIU regained a 33-20 advantage with 5:33 left until the break, the Hawks rattled off a 12-2 spurt in 2:50 to pull within 35-32 with 1:59 remaining. LIU's Evan Meekins put an end to the MU run by drilling his third three of the half, giving the Blackbirds a 38-32 edge with just over a minute remaining, before a Bunch free throw made the score 38-33 at the break.
The Blackbirds went ahead 43-37 on a Kotorbai trey at the 18:17 mark, but two Dejan Delic threes and a Marques Alston lefty drive pulled MU even at 45-45 with 16:45 showing. The Hawks then corralled the lead 57-55, at 11:12, when Delic hit another trifecta.
Monmouth led by three points 69-66 at the 4:02 mark when Delic hit his fourth three-pointer of the half, but the Blackbirds rallied to reclaim the lead with 2:35 left, 73-71 when Jaytornah Wisseh dropped in a basket. James Williams' lone three of the game came in the next possession, giving the Blackbirds a five-point edge.
Trailing 76-73 with 35.6 ticks left, Delic missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Wisseh connected on 6-of-6 free throws in the final minute to pace LIU to the 82-78 victory.
Alston scored 16, of his 18 points in the second half, while Delic tallied 19 of his team-high 27, in the second stanza.
Monmouth connected on 54.2% from the field, but went 8-of-13 from the free throw line, including missing the front end of three one-and-one situations. LIU, which hit 44.6% from the floor (11-for-28 from three-point range), went 21-for-29 from the foul line.
Monmouth returns to action on Friday, February 23, when the Hawks host Sacred Heart at 7:30 p.m., in Boylan Gym.
