Box Score BOSTON, Massachusetts – In day three of action at the Steve Wright Classic, Maine men's basketball falls to LIU Brooklyn despite a second half surge, 71-66.
The Black Bears are currently on a three-game losing streak and fall to 1-4 on the year, LIU Brooklyn improve to 4-1 overall.
Iverson Fleming scored a game high 26 points for the Blackbirds. He shot 6-of-11 from the field, including 2-for-3 from behind the arc and made 12-for-12 from the free throw line in 36 minutes of play. Jashaun Agosto and Jerome Frink were the other double-digit scorers for LIU Brooklyn, each with 13 points.
The Black Bears were led by
Ilker Er with 13 points (4-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from three),
Wes Myers and
Dennis Ashley also chipped in with 11 points each.
LIU Brooklyn led throughout the entire game, with the only tie was within the first :38 seconds of play as Maine tied the game at 2-2 with a
Vincent Eze layup.
The Blackbirds headed into the half with a 37-28 advantage over Maine. Iverson Fleming for LIU Brooklyn scored 18 points, only missing one shot (5-for-6 from the field) and made all six free throw attempts. The Blackbirds shot 47.6 percent from the field and converted 15-of-16 free throw attempts.
Maine was held to 37.9 percent shooting from the field in the first half and was led by
Marko Pirovic and
Dennis Ashley, both off of the bench, with six points apiece.
In the second half, the Black Bears went the first nine minutes of play only scoring two points off of an
Andrew Fleming jumper, bringing the score to 39-32 at 16:14.
After a 10-0 run by the Blackbirds, Maine cut the deficit to 12 points after seven scored in a row by
Ilker Er, LIU Brooklyn led 55-43 with 8:32 remaining.
With a little over six minutes to go, Er knocked down another three cutting LIU Brooklyn's lead to single digits, 57-48.
LIU Brooklyn led 61-52 with 5:00 minutes remaining, Maine scored four straight points to cut the lead to five, 61-56 with 2:52 to go.
Each team traded buckets over the next two and a half minutes, as LIU Brooklyn held a 67-61 lead. With :23 seconds to go, Maine's
Andrew Fleming scored a layup to bring Maine to within four, 67-63.
On the LIU Brooklyn inbound, the Black Bears fouled to give the Blackbirds two free throws from the line, Iverson Fleming knocked down both to increase the margin back to six, 69-66 with :18 seconds remaining.
Six seconds later,
Dennis Ashley pulled up and knocked down a three pointer, cutting the lead to three and making it a one possession game, 69-66, with :11 seconds to go.
LIU Brooklyn then broke through the Maine defense as the Black Bears fouled with :01 second remaining in the game as Iverson Fleming knocked down both free throws to seal the 71-66 victory for the Blackbirds.
The Black Bears return to action on Saturday, November 26 at 2:00 p.m. versus the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
