Three-Point Shooting Leads Blackbirds Past Monmouth, 78-72

(boxscore)

2/11/06 -- Junior guard James Williams (DeSoto, Texas) scored a career-high 31 points, 20 of those coming in the second half, to lead Long Island University to a 78-72 Northeast Conference victory over Monmouth on Saturday afternoon at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center.

The Blackbirds (8-13, 5-7 NEC) connected on 16 3-pointers in the contest, the most triples for an LIU team since Feb. 21, 1998. That squad connected on 17 from behind the arc versus Monmouth.

Williams went 6-of-8 from long distance and 11-for-11 from the free throw line. Sophomore Eugene Kotorobai (Richmond Hill, Ontario) added a season-best 16 points, including a 4-of-5 performance from downtown.

Junior Esa Maki-Tulokas (Forssa, Finland) had 11 points and senior Aubin Scott (Hempstead, N.Y.) posted a double-digit rebounding afternoon, grabbing 11.

Holding a 13-8 lead at the 12:04 mark of the first half, LIU erupted on a 25-14 tear. Kotorobai and Maki-Tulokas combined for 16 points during the run. Maki-Tulokas capped the spurt with a pair of treys to give LIU its largest advantage, 38-22 with 2:12 remaining in the period. The Blackbirds shot 58.8 percent from 3-point land, draining 10-of-17 to lead 38-28 at intermission.

The Hawks used an 8-0 run, punctuated by an old-fashioned three-point play from Dejan Delic, to close to 41-39 with 16:10 remaining. LIU responded, nailing five of its next six shots- four of those from 3-point territory- to push ahead 55-44 with 11:47 showing. The visitors would close to five twice in the final six minutes but could get no closer as the Blackbirds led from the opening tip to the closing horn for the first time this season.

Monmouth (12-12, 9-4 NEC) was paced by guard Chris Kenny with 20 points. Forward Marques Alston added 14.

LIU returns to action on Monday, February 13 as the team travels to Mount St. Mary’s for a 7:00 p.m. contest.