Men's Basketball Drops Old Westbury, 70-60

(boxscore)

12/19/04 -- Long Island University registered a 70-60 victory over Old Westbury on Sunday afternoon at the Schwartz Athletic Center. Sophomore guard James Williams (DeSoto, Texas) netted a game-high 16 points, including a 9-for-10 performance at the free throw line.

Sophomore forward Esa Maki-Tulokas (Forssa, Finland) added 14 points and 10 rebounds for his third career double-double. Guard Evan Meekins (E. Providence, R.I.) scored 13.

The Blackbirds (4-3) soared to a 26-7 lead following a lay-up from Derek Bell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with 8:47 remaining in the first half. Maki-Tulokas registered 10 of the team’s first 26 points during its opening run. LIU led 42-25 at the break.

With LIU leading 48-30 at the 14:20 mark of the second stanza, the Panthers erupted on a 13-2 spurt. Sophomore guard Ian Johnson accounted for eight of Old Westbury’s 13 points during the run which cut the lead to 50-43. The Blackbirds responded, scoring the next seven points. A 3-pointer from Meekins with 8:49 showing increased the edge to 57-43 en route to the Blackbirds’ fourth win of the season.

Junior Jared Weir paced the Panthers with 15 points. Johnson added 13 points and 12 rebounds.

LIU continues its two-game home-stand on Wednesday, December 22 hosting Harvard at 7:00 p.m.