(boxscore)
 11/25/05 --
Long Island University narrowly missed an NCAA single-game record for field goal
percentage in a half and made its first 16 shots of the game
as the men’s basketball team cruised to a 105-50 victory
over Old Westbury on Saturday evening at the Wellness Center.
The Blackbirds shot a blistering 93.3 percent from the field, connecting on 28
of the 30 shots they attempted in the first half. The all-time NCAA record for
field goal percentage in a half was set by North Carolina in 1978 (94.1 percent
vs. Virginia). LIU finished the game shooting at a 72.4 percent clip, including
64 percent from three-point range.
Senior guard James Williams (DeSoto, Texas) scored 17 points in 10 minutes on
5-for-5 shooting, including a perfect 4-for-4 mark from beyond the arc. The total
moves him into 13th place on the all-time list and also pushes him past the 1,300-point
plateau for his career (1,305).
Williams’ three-pointer just 12 seconds into play started things off for
LIU, who jumped out to a 37-7 advantage 8:04 into the game and did not miss a
field goal until the 8:34 mark of the first half. A jumper by Ren Azinge (Brooklyn,
N.Y.) pushed the Long Island advantage to 40 points and a buzzer-beating jumper
by junior Eugene Kotorobai (Richmond Hill, Ontario) gave the squad its largest
advantage at 68-26.
It was much of the same in the second half, as the Blackbirds came out and hit
six of their first seven shots. Williams hit back-to-back trifectas 45 seconds
apart and senior Esa Maki-Tulokas (Forssa, Finland) also hit from long range
to push the lead to 81-30.
Senior Evan Meekins (East Providence, R.I.) connected on four three-pointers
and scored a season-high 15 points while Kellen Allen (Mansfield, Texas) chipped
in with 14 points and six rebounds. Ian Johnson led the Panthers in scoring with
14. The Blackbirds outrebounded Old Westbury, 41-19.
LIU continues its non-conference schedule as they travel to Jamaica, N.Y. to
face St. John’s on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
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