LIU Notches 76-67 Victory over St. Francis (PA) in NEC Quarterfinals; First NEC Tournament Win Since 1998

(boxscore) / (NEC photos)

3/3/05 -- Sophomores Evan Meekins (East Providence, R.I.) and James Williams (DeSoto, Texas) scored six points apiece in the deciding second-half run for fourth-seeded Long Island, a 76-67 winner over No. 5 seed St. Francis (PA) in the Northeast Conference Tournament quarterfinals at Schwartz Center.

Williams finished with 19 points, marking the 21st time he led the Blackbirds (14-14) in scoring. Randy Jones (West Palm Beach, Fla.) netted 18 with four 3-pointers and fellow freshman Kellen Allen (Mansfield, Texas) added 12 for LIU, which notched its first victory in a conference tournament game since topping Mount St. Mary’s, 93-73, in the 1998 NEC semifinals. It was the Blackbirds fifth straight home victory and fifth in six outings overall.

LIU advances to the semifinals on Sunday and will face second-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson in Hackensack, N.J. Game time is 6:00 pm. Tickets will be on sale Friday beginning at 2:00 pm at the LIU ticket office located in the main building. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students with college I.D., senior citizens 65 and older, and children.

Down 43-31 early in the second half, the Red Flash (15-13) clawed their way back in. Darshan Luckey scored nine points during a 22-10 run and Rahsaan Benton capped it on a 3-pointer with 9:37 left for a 53-53 tie.

The Blackbirds took over from there, using a 15-3 run over seven minutes to open a 68-56 cushion with 2:12 left. Meekins capped the spurt with a great individual effort. After freshman Paulius Morkeliunas (Kaunas, Lithuania) stole a pass from Rodney Gibson in the backcourt, Meekins hit a driving layup as he was fouled by Benton and converted the 3-point play.

LIU’s lead did not shrink below seven the rest of the way, finishing a half in which it shot 54 percent (13-of-24) from the field. Williams, a second team All-NEC selection, scored 16 points after intermission on 6-of-9 shooting.

“It is a great win for our program,” LIU coach and NEC Coach of the Year Jim Ferry said. “We start two freshmen and three sophomores and we came out like we were here (in the playoffs) every year.”

Senior Derek Bell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds with Morkeliunas netting six points for the Blackbirds, who shot 50 percent (30-of-60) from the field and 7-of-17 from 3-point range.

Luckey, tabbed first team All-NEC, played solidly for St. Francis (PA) with 25 points, including 14 in the second half. Benton poured in 15 points with three 3-pointers and Gibson added 10 and seven rebounds.

Allen scored 10 points during a game-opening 21-7 spurt that was capped when sophomore Esa Maki-Tulokas (Forssa, Finland) nailed a 3-pointer. LIU grabbed its biggest lead, 26-9, with 9:29 to play on Bell’s free throw.