Men's Basketball Rallies for 76-71 Triumph at Quinnipiac

(boxscore)

1/29/05 -- Sophomore James Williams (DeSoto, Texas) scored 24 points and set career highs by shooting 12-of-14 from the line for Long Island's fourth victory in seven outings, a 76-71 Northeast Conference triumph at Quinnipiac in Hamden, Conn.

Senior Derek Bell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored 12 of his 19 points in the first half and sophomore Evan Meekins (East Providence, R.I) netted 10 for the Blackbirds (8-10, 5-4 NEC), who shot 33-of-42 from the line to just miss a pair of school records. LIU hit 34 free throws against St. Francis (NY) on February 22, 2003 and attempted 48 on January 31, 1998 vs. Central Connecticut State.

Quinnipiac (7-10, 3-5) scored 10 straight points, six of which were second-chance points, to open a 14-4 lead capped by two free throws from Kevin Jolley. LIU responded with a 14-6 spurt to move to 20-18 with 8:11 left in the first half. Bell poured in eight points during that stretch and Meekins closed it on a 3-pointer.

Christian Burns made a layup to give the Bobcats a 34-25 cushion before the Blackbirds closed the half strong. Freshman Kellen Allen (Mansfield, Texas) hit a pair of free throws and sophomore Esa Maki-Tulokas (Forssa, Finland) nailed a critical 3-pointer as LIU trailed, 34-30, at the break.

The Blackbirds scored the first five points of the second half and led 35-34, their first lead since 2-0, on Williams' two free throws.

Jolley's layup gave Quinnipiac a 54-47 lead, but Williams again kept LIU in it with a 3-pointer and two free throws for a 54-52 game with 7:56 to go.

After C.J. Vick's putback with 4:57 left gave the Bobcats a 64-59 lead, the Blackbirds used an 8-2 run to open a 67-66 cushion with 2:25 remaining. Bell ended the spurt on a layup.

Quinnipiac took its final lead, 70-69, with 1:14 left when Karl Anderson hit a layup. But Williams again swung the momentum, drilling a 3-pointer with 50 seconds left for a 72-70 lead to mark the fourth time this season he poured in at least 20 points.

Rob Monroe was fouled with 16 seconds left for Quinnipiac. He was 8-of-8 from the stripe prior to this point, but only made 1-of-2 for a 72-71 deficit. The Bobcats were forced to foul with Meekins and Allen each hitting twice over the final 13 seconds to close the scoring.

Bell grabbed eight rebounds and junior Aubin Scott (Hempstead, N.Y.) added seven for LIU, which gained a 43-38 advantage to mark the first time all season it outrebounded a team in back-to-back contests.

The Blackbirds shot 25-of-31 from the line after intermission and outscored the Bobcats, 46-37, in the second half for the team's second straight win when trailing at the break.

LIU surpassed its NEC win total from last season (4-14) and its free throw shooting helped it overcome hitting just 34 percent (19-of-56) from the field.

Vick closed with 20 points and 14 rebounds, Monroe scored 17 points and Anderson netted 13 for Quinnipiac. Vick shot 9-of-11 from the floor as the Bobcats hit 44 percent (25-of-57) overall.

LIU hosts Fairleigh Dickinson on Monday, beginning at 7:00 pm.