LIU Defeats Stonehill in Brooklyn

Brooklyn New York

Arizona State transfer Malachi Davis scored the first six points and had two steals to start the game. LIU spent the first eight minutes of the game locking down the Skyhawks offense and converting on their own offensive end. Charlie and David LIU superfans were cheering on the Sharks courtside. They caused Stonehill to shoot early in the shot-clock on multiple fake countdowns.

Stonehill chipped away at the lead throughout the rest of the first half. The Skyhawks were making the most of their second chances. They pulled down five offensive rebounds in the first half. Their inability to hold on to the ball plagued them. 11 turnovers prevented the Skyhawks from running consistent offense.

The Sharks took a 30-24 lead into the intermission. Malachi Davis had 17 points for LIU in the first half and was making plays all over the floor. LIU applied tough defensive pressure to Stonehill in the second half. The Sharks couldn’t extend the lead. The Skyhawks tied up the game on a corner three-pointer by Louie Semona. Out of the under-twelve media timeout Davis took the ball to the rim for LIU and converted a basket through the contact.

The two teams went back and forth for the next few minutes of game clock. Louie Semona contributed big time for the Skyhawks. He had 20 points at the under-eight timeout in the second half. Despite hitting four three-pointers he appeared to be playing through some pain. Malachi Davis picked up his fourth foul down the stretch.

Chas Stinson hit a Skyhawks three-pointer to bring them within four with 40.8 seconds remaining. LIU had trouble inbounding the ball on back-to-back possessions which led to a turnover and Stonehill basket and then a frantic timeout call to preserve possession. The third time inbounding caused a turnover. Stonehill then had a chance to win or tie down only two with 24.6 seconds to go. Semona was fouled and made one free throw to cut it to a one point LIU lead.

LIU survived down the stretch securing a 62-59 win over Stonehill.