The Long Island University men’s basketball team just had its four-game winning streak snapped.
A hot-shooting Hofstra bested the Blackbirds 88–62 during the Brooklyn Hoops Winter Classic at the Barclays Center last Sunday. The Pride shot 50.8 percent from the field and connected on 14 of 27 of its three-pointers on the contest.
Ameen Tanksley paced Hofstra (8–4) with a career-high 32 points and Juan’ya Greeded added 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Long Island University (4–7) got 14 points and six rebounds from Nura Zanna, Iverson Fleming had 13 points and Joel Hernandez added 10.
The Blackbirds were in the game for the first 10 minutes before Hofstra ripped off a 34–15 run to close the half. The Pride led 45–25 at the break, but Long Island University attempted to rally as the second half began. It went on a 12–4 run, led by five points apiece from Fleming and Landon Atterberry.
The Blackbirds were within 49–37 with 15:50 left in the game, but Hofstra quickly responded with a spurt of its own. Hofstra proceeded to go on a 10–0 run over the next 3:16 to put the game out of reach.
Long Island University came into the game riding high. It had rattled off four-straight wins after losing its first six games. The streak was highlighted by a victory over the New Jersey Institute of Technology, which owns wins over Michigan and St. Francis College (Brooklyn). Iceland native Elvar Fridriksson, a freshman, is the Blackbirds’ leading scorer at 11.2 points per contest.
The Blackbirds will have to enter North East Conference play on a loss. Long Island University will look to regroup and bounce back when it hosts Bryant in its league opener on Jan. 3 at the Wellness Center.
