See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Mike Morton
Brooklyn Daily
Long Island University nearly watched a 14-point first-half lead get away, but fended off St. Francis 83–75 in the Battle of Brooklyn at the Barclays Center Sunday afternoon.
St. Francis, which trailed 42–28 with 1:07 left in the first half, rallied after the break behind the play of sophomore reserve P.J. Santavenere, who scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half.
The Terriers briefly held their first lead 69–67 with 5:13 remaining in the game after a Santavenere jumper. The Blackbirds responded by finishing the game on an 11-0 run over the final 2:56 to put the game away.
“It was a wild game,” Blackbirds coach Jack Perri said. “Down the stretch we got stops where we needed it.”
Jamal Olasewere scored 20 points and C.J. Garner put in 17 for Long Island University (12–11, 7–4), which is tied for third place in the Northeast Conference. Junior point guard Jason Brickman scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half and had nine assists. St. Francis took away his passing lanes in the second half and dared him to score.
“I was just trying to be aggressive and take whatever they gave me,” Brickman said.
The Blackbirds gave St. Francis (9–13, 5–6) a huge break with 13:20 remaining in the game. Santavenere picked up a steal and drove in. Garner intentionally fouled Santavenere, who made the basket and the ensuing two free throw attempts.
He then hit a 3-pointer with 13:07 remaining in the game to conclude a 7-point possession that cut the LIU lead to four in just 13 seconds. Akeem Johnson paced St. Francis with 22 points but Santavenere was the spark they needed.
“I just try to bring energy every time I get in,” Santavenere said. “I wasn’t really scoring at first, but I ended up having a good day making shots and they went in.”
The Terriers’ late rally gave the crowd at Barclays the game it had hoped for between the two long-time rivals, charging up both sides in the stands.
“With five minutes left, the crowd really got into it,” Olasewere said. “I heard our side. I heard their side’s fans. I couldn’t tell which one it was.”
Reach Mike Morton through Joseph Staszewski at jstaszewski@cnglocal.com. Follow him on twitter @cng_staszewski.