Sacred Heart Nips LIU, 77-74
Williams Nets 21, Morkeliunas Registers Career-best 18 Points

(boxscore)

2/19/05-- Sophomore James Williams (DeSoto, Texas) registered a game-high 21 points but it was not enough as Long Island University dropped a 77-74 decision at Sacred Heart University in Northeast Conference men’s basketball action on Saturday afternoon. Williams, who scored in double figures for the 19th straight time this season, added three assists and three steals.

For the Blackbirds (11-14, 8-8 NEC), freshman Paska Morkeliunas (Kaunas, Lithuania) posted a career-high 18 points, including a 6-for-6 performance from the free line.

Sophomore Esa Maki-Tulokas (Forssa, Finland) added 13 points and freshman Randy Jones (West Palm Beach, Fla.) contributed 12.

The Pioneers (4-20, 3-17 NEC) were paced junior Kibwe Trim, who recorded a team-high 19 points. Sophomores Joey Henley and Jarrid Frye scored 15 and 14 18 points, respectively.

SHU jumped to a 20-8 lead to start the contest. Frye scored seven points, including a pair of dunks, and Trim added five during the 6:27 run. The Blackbirds used a 12-3 spurt to climb within three, 23-20 with 8:35 remaining in the stanza. Morkeliunas scored seven points during the run.

The Pioneers again countered offensively, pulling out to their largest advantage (34-22) with 4:32 showing. LIU clawed back, draining three of its final four field goals and going 6-for-6 from the free throw line to even the score at 36-36 at intermission.

LIU took its first lead of the second half, 47-46, on a jumper from Morkeliunas with 12:12 remaining. The lead vanished on the next possession on a driving layup from Henley who scored 10 of the Pioneers’ first 12 points of the half.

The Pioneers extended their lead to 59-50 with 9:01 remaining before the Blackbirds again countered. A four-point play from Williams pulled LIU to 61-60 with 6:45 on the clock. The see-saw battle continued with a 3-pointer from Frye to give the home team a 68-62 advantage at the 5:40 mark.

A triple each from Maki-Tulokas and Jones and a pair of free throws from Williams pushed LIU back out front, 70-68 with 4:05 remaining. The Pioneers went inside, quickly shifting the pendulum and building a five-point cushion and a lead they would not relinquish.

The Pioneers posted a 40-14 points advantage in the paint.

The Blackbirds conclude the regular season on Thursday, February 24 hosting Robert Morris. The game scheduled for 7:00 p.m. is the last contest in the Schwartz Athletic Center, formerly the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre.