Men's Basketball Handed 78-60 Loss by Harvard

(boxscore)

12/22/04 -- Sophomore James Williams (DeSoto, Texas) poured in 16 points and grabbed six rebounds for Long Island University, which was detitle a 78-60 loss by Harvard at Schwartz Center.

Williams shot 6-of-14 from the floor over 38 minutes and is averaging 18.0 points over his last five contests. Randy Jones (West Palm Beach, Fla.) scored 13 points and fellow freshman Paulius Morkeliunas (Kaunas, Lithuania) had 10 and six rebounds for the Blackbirds (4-4).

Jason Norman scored seven points and Matt Stehle added five for the Crimson (4-6) during a 17-4 run bridging both halves for a 52-31 lead with 14:01 left. Norman scored all 13 of his points in the second half and Stehle poured in nine of his 13 after intermission as Harvard outscored LIU, 41-33, in that stretch.

David Giovacchini had 12 points and nine assists with Graham Beatty adding 12 points and six rebounds for the Crimson, who shot 48 percent (28-of-58) from the floor. Harvard shot 50 percent (15-of-30) from the field in the opening half for a 37-27 lead.

Zach Martin contributed eight points to help Harvard, which never trailed, gain a 23-14 advantage in bench points.

Despite just its second loss in five outings, LIU for the first time this season outrebounded an opponent (39-34). The Blackbirds were denied their first three-game home winning streak since the 2000-01 campaign.

LIU begins a three-game road trip Tuesday, December 28 against Arizona State at the ASU Hoops Classic in Tempe, Ariz. Tip-off is at 9:00 pm EST.