MEN'S BASKETBALL

Longest Game in LIU History Ends in 78-76 Loss to Mount St. Mary's

 

 

(boxscore)

1/4/07 --The Long Island University men’s basketball team fell to Mount St. Mary’s, 78-76, in four overtimes at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center on Thursday night. The game is the longest on record at LIU and tied for the longest in Northeast Conference history.

James Williams (DeSoto, Texas) led all scorers with 24 points, while Eugene Kotorobai (Richmond Hill, Ontario) grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds.

The Mountaineers came out in the final overtime period and took the lead for good when Will Holland hit a three-pointer for a 75-72 lead. After a foul shot from Kelly Beidler and another from Holland put the Mount up five, the Blackbirds answered with a jumper from Jaytornah Wisseh (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Williams hit two foul shots to make it 77-76. Jeremy Goode hit 1 of 2 foul shots to put the Mountaineers up two with three seconds left, but LIU had a final attempt to win before Wisseh’s three-point attempt caromed off the rim at the buzzer.

The Blackbirds trailed 53-44 midway through the second half before two foul shots from Kotorobai started a 15-2 run. The Mountaineers were held to two points over a 10-minute span, before Beidler had a dunk at the 1:02 mark and Mychal Kearse added a layup to tie the game at 59 at the end of regulation. Kearse also added a pair of free throws at the end of the first overtime to knot the game at 65-65.

Mount St. Mary’s jumped out to a 10-2 lead to start the game, getting five points from Chris Vann before Kotorobai came off the bench to hit a three-pointer and get LIU back into the game. A foul shot and a layup from Paska Morkeliunas (Kaunas, Lithuania) leveled the score at 10-10. After falling behind 23-18, LIU battled back for its first lead of the game at 28-27 after Esa Maki-Tulokas (Forssa, Finland) had a three-pointer and foul shot on consecutive possessions. The Mountaineers rattled off seven straight points in response before taking a 34-30 lead into the intermission.

Mount St. Mary’s Vann scored 21 of his team-high 23 points in the first half. Kelly Beidler added 15 points and seven rebounds. The Mount outshot LIU, 41.2 percent to 37.9 percent for the game and held a 47-42 edge on the boards.

The only other four-overtime game in an NEC conference matchup occurred on February 1, 2001, when Sacred Heart defeated Fairleigh Dickinson, 133-130.

The Blackbirds return to action on Monday, Jan. 8, when they host St. Francis (N.Y.) at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center at 7:30 p.m.