Williams Leads Blackbirds to Overtime Victory over SFPA

(boxscore)

1/12/06 -- Junior guard James Williams (DeSoto, Texas) registered a game-high 21 points, including a crucial 3-pointer in overtime to lift Long Island University to a 73-70 Northeast Conference victory over St. Francis (PA) on Thursday evening. Williams paced four Blackbirds in double figures.

Junior forward Esa Maki-Tulokas (Forssa, Finland) added 15 points and eight rebounds. Maki-Tulokas blocked a three-point field goal attempt from Rahsaan Benton in the waning seconds to seal the victory.

Teammate Evan Meekins (E. Providence, R.I.) recorded 12 points, 10 of those coming in the second half. Sophomore forward Paska Morkeliunas (Kaunas, Lithuania) had 13 points and a team-best 12 rebounds. Senior guard Aubin Scott (Hempstead, N.Y.) scored five points, all in the extra stanza.

Tied 61-61 with 47.6 seconds remaining and following a SFPA timeout, Red Flash guard Garrett Farha drained a long field goal from the top of the key to take the lead. Morkeliunas was fouled in the lane on the ensuing play, and calmly converted the one-and-one from the free throw line with 16.3 seconds on the clock to send the contest into overtime.

Meekins scored eight straight for the Blackbirds to build a 48-44 lead with 10:26 remaining but the Red Flash quickly tied the contest at 54-54 behind a pair of triples from Grant Surprenant and Rahsaan Benton. The game see-sawed over the final seven minutes before moving into overtime.