Blackbirds Fall At Quinnipiac, 73-71 in Overtime

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1/27/07 -- The Long Island University men’s basketball team fell short to Quinnipiac, losing 73-71 in overtime, in the inaugural game played at the TD Banknorth Sports Center on Saturday afternoon. Senior James Williams (DeSoto, Texas), who scored a game-high 21 points, helped the Blackbirds fight back from a 12-point second half deficit, but it was not enough as the Bobcats held on to win their sixth straight game.

The Blackbirds trailed 44-32 with 19:04 to go in the second half, before a three-pointer from senior Esa Maki-Tulokas (Forssa, Finland) sparked an 18-6 run that eventually evened the score. A layup from Paska Morkeliunas (Kaunas, Lithuania) brought LIU within 50-47, its smallest deficit since the opening minutes, before Maki-Tulokas tied it with another three-pointer on the next possession.

Long Island (7-13, 3-6 NEC) took the lead with consecutive three-pointers from Williams and junior Eugene Kotorobai (Richmond Hill, Ontario), to go ahead 56-52 with 11:50 to play. Quinnipiac responded with an 11-2 run over the next four minutes to go up 63-58, highlighted by six straight points from DeMario Anderson.

After LIU scored seven straight to take the lead back, but DeMario Anderson, who scored Quinnipiac’s final eight points in regulation, ended a six-minute scoreless drought for QU with a layup to make it 65-65, which was the score going into overtime.

In overtime, a Tyrone Mattison (Toronto, Ontario) jumper tied the game at 67 before Quinnipiac scored four straight. LIU came right back, getting a pair of foul shots from Williams and then a jumper from freshman Jaytornah Wisseh (Brooklyn, N.Y.) to tie the game at 71-71 with 58 seconds left. A layup from Victor Aknyanju with 27 seconds left was the difference as the Blackbirds missed on three attempts to tie at the end.

Kotorobai finished with 10 points off the bench, to join Williams as the only LIU players in double-figures. Aubin Scott (Hempstead, N.Y.) added seven points, six assists and five rebounds for the Blackbirds. LIU held a 43-37 advantage on the glass, but shot just 34.9 percent compared to 49.2 percent for Quinnipiac.

Quinnipiac (8-10, 6-3), playing its first game in the new arena, shot a blistering 56.7 percent in the opening period to lead by as many as 14 before taking a 40-30 lead into halftime. Adam Gonzalez led Quinnipiac with 21 points, while DeMario Anderson chipped in with 18 off the bench. Akinyanju had 14 points to go along with four blocks.

The Blackbirds return to action on Tuesday, January 30, when they host Wagner in the Wellness, Recreation and Athletics Center at 7:00 p.m.