Blackbirds Win Nail-Biter Over Red Storm at Barclays

By Brandon Glogau

A go ahead basket by Iverson Fleming with 26 seconds remaining carried the LIU Brooklyn men’s basketball team to a 74-73 victory over St. John’s University on Sunday in the BROOKLYN HOOPS Winter Festival at Barclays Center.

“Iverson has a mindset to win he brings every single day with his effort, energy and his enthusiasm,” said LIU head coach Jack Perri. “For him to play as well as he has is tremendous.”

Fleming led the Blackbirds (7-3) in scoring with 21 points while redshirt senior Jerome Frink collected his third double-double of the season, scoring 20 points and pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds. Redshirt junior Nura Zana also recorded his third double-double, dropping 13 points and 11 boards on the Johnnies.

“Every time I step on the court I have a mind set to win and the will to help my teammates as best as I can,” said an emotional Fleming after the game. “When I took that shot I was trying to be aggressive and take the best shot possible.

“This win against this type of school is great for us; we’re looking to do some special things this season,” said the senior from North Brunswick, N.J. who has been a mainstay of the Blackbirds offense all season. “This [win] shows that we can play with anyone if we put our minds to it, follow the game plan and play hard.”

LIU’s first win over St. John’s since 1996 broke a string of five straight losses. It was only the Blackbirds fourth victory over the Red Storm in 14 meetings dating back to 1931.

“I give all the credit to LIU,” said St. John’s head coach Chris Mullen. “They took it to us from the start. They led 18-7, and pretty much controlled the whole game. Even when we had a seven-point lead, we got sloppy and didn't take care of the ball.”

Freshman guard Shamorie Ponds led St. John’s (5-6) with 18 points, shooting 4 of 8 from three-point range, but made a key turnover late in the game that lead to Fleming’s game-winning heroics. Senior forward Darien Williams scored a career high 15 points shooting 4-6 from the field and leading the Red Storm with 7 rebounds.

LIU’s Perri talked up the performance of his big men who led the Blackbirds to 32 points in the paint.

“Between Zana and Frink we’ve got two horses down low that are big, strong and skilled,” he said. “That’s a focus of ours every time we start the game lets get the ball inside, and play inside out.”

Frink’s fourth foul sent him to the bench with 4:54 remaining in the game, but his coach sent him right back out with four minutes to go. The gamble paid off as the Blackbirds came from four points down thanks to strong defense and seven straight points from Iverson.

“It was a difficult decision whether I should leave him in or not,” said Perri of reinserting Frink, his best defensive player. “I went back and forth to see if we could go a minute without him. He didn’t like it but I knew it wasn’t going to be for very long.

“At the end of the day it was a good decision he didn’t foul out,” he added.

Frink paid tribute to his teammates for the win.

“It was all up to the team and not just me,” said Frink after the game. “I had a lot of help from my teammates because I’m a big piece on the floor in defense so I needed everybody to help me guard on the court.”

LIU will travel to Minneapolis for a game this Wednesday against Minnesota before returning home to Brooklyn on Sunday December 18 for a matchup with Dartmouth at the Steinberg Wellness Center.

St. John’s will be back in action on Sunday December 18, against Penn State at Madison Square Garden. Tip off is scheduled for 11:00 A.M.