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Blackbirds end four-game skid with tight Battle of Brooklyn victory

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See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.

By Michael Randazzo

Brooklyn Daily

What a difference a week made for the St. Francis College and Long Island University men’s basketball teams.

Going into the Feb. 8 home matchup against conference leader Robert Morris, St. Francis was still the Northeast Conference upstart aiming to burnish its résumé. At that same time, the injury-riddled Blackbirds were in a tailspin, losers of four straight and outside the conference playoffs.

But then came the pre-tip suspensions of St. Francis stars Brent Jones, Wayne Martin, P.J. Santavenere and Anthony White, a lopsided loss to the Colonials, and White’s arrest for allegedly beating his girlfriend.

The Blackbirds’ luck turned around when a snowstorm cancelled a game against Sacred Heart and gave the squad time to heal.

Even with Jones, Martin, Santavenere back in the lineup last Sunday, St. Francis couldn’t hold off a resurgent Long Island University squad that snapped it’s losing streak by pulling out a 69–68 win in the second installment of the Battle of Brooklyn at the Barclays Center on Feb. 16.

“We had that long layoff, but to be honest, that might have been the best thing for us,” said Blackbird coach Jack Perri. “We got some really good practices in this week.”

St. Francis did have a late chance for a win, down just 67–65 with the ball and 16 seconds to play. Martin looked to drive and split the Blackbird defense, but his shot hit off the rim.

“Wayne saw an opening and drove it, that’s what good players do,” said Terriers coach Glenn Braica. “He’s won three games for us on the last possession. Tonight it didn’t work out.”

Perri’s decision to switch from a zone defense to man-to-man was key, because St. Francis (15–11, 6–5) overwhelmed LIU (8–16, 3–8) on the boards in the first matchup. The Blackbirds out-rebounded St. Francis 36–34 this time around.

“LIU’s been primarily a zone team this year,” Braica said. “Last game we had 20 offensive rebounds in the first half. Them playing man today was about trying to keep us off the glass.”

The game was a seesaw affair as St. Francis twice rallied from nine points down, but couldn’t overtake a Blackbird squad desperate for a win.

LIU senior Jason Brickman — who on Monday was named a finalist for the 2014 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award — dished out 14 assists. With 961 career assists, the sterling playmaker is now eighth on the NCAA career assists list.

“A lot of players really stepped up and helped me out,” Brickman said. “It’s great to win the Battle of Brooklyn after they beat us pretty good the first game.”

Junior Landon Atterberry scored a game-high 20 points, and junior Gilbert Parga returned from injury to tally 14 points. Atterberry has lit up St. Francis for 39 points in two meetings, with help from Brickman.

“I never had with a point guard like him and I probably never will again,” Atterberry said. “It’s just a blessing playing with Jason.”

Ben Mockford led the way for St. Francis with 17 points — a far cry from the 30 he dropped in the previous meeting. Jalen Cannon tallied 15 points and six rebounds, and junior Jones scored 13 points, including big shots down the stretch that almost gave the Terriers a rare sweep of their rival.

Reach reporter Joseph Staszewski at jstaszewski@cnglocal.com. Follow him on twitter @cng_staszewski.

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