Box Score BROOKLYN, N.Y. – LIU Brooklyn closed the game with a 17-8 run en route to an 87-80 season-opening win against Saint Peter's in non-conference men's basketball action on Saturday.
Marvin Dominique (Miramar, Fla./Miramar [Fordham]) notched a career-high 31 points and 14 rebounds for his first career double-double in his first game in a Peacocks (0-1) uniform while freshman Quadir Welton (Philadelphia, Pa./Math, Science and Civics Charter) tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds in his collegiate debut. Desi Washington (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Daulphin [Delaware State]) added 14 points in the loss.
Gerrell Martin fueled the Blackbirds (1-0) with 24 points. E.J. Reed added 17 points, Gilbert Parga had 13 points and Landon Atterberry chipped in 11 points. Senior Jason Brickman tallied 13 points, 14 assists, six rebounds and three assists in the winning effort.
LIU Brooklyn had control for most of the game before Saint Peter's made a strong second-half push before the Blackbirds closed the game by scoring 17 of the final 25 points to come away with the season-opening win. The two teams have won on its home floor in the last seven meetings.
"I think we really matched LIU's intensity in the second half to bring us back into the game, but they made some big shots down the stretch," said head coach John Dunne.
Jamel Fields (Albany, N.Y./Cheshire Academy [Fairfield]) gave the Peacocks their final lead on a traditional 3-point play at 3:29 before LIU Brooklyn took the advantage for good on an Atterberry 3-pointer at 3:17 for a 73-72 edge.
Saint Peter's had two chances to reclaim the lead before Parga made the backend of two free throws at 2:24 and Reed nailed a triple at 1:48 to give the Blackbirds a seven-point lead.
After Atterberry scored in the lane to hand the Blackbirds an 81-72 lead with 49 seconds left, Welton and Washington both scored in the paint to trim the margin to 81-76 with 22 seconds left. Martin answered with two free throws and Saint Peter's could get no closer the rest of the way.
The Blackbirds jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the first three minutes and 17 seconds and held the lead though out the first half.
Martin got the scoring started for LIU Brooklyn on a layup 32 seconds into the contest and then Brickman nailed a trey at the 18:31 mark for an early 5-0 edge.
Dominique put the Peacocks on the board with his first basket in a Saint Peter's uniform at 18:01 and then traded baskets with Attenberry to maintain the five-point margin.
The Peacocks trimmed the margin to 9-8 thanks to Welton's first career points on a basket in the paint at 16:25 and Washington made two free throws at 15:42 to make it a one-point contest.
The Blackbirds then went on a 7-0 run to increase their lead to 16-8. Reed made two free throws at 16:23, Martin made a 3-pointer at 14:49 and Brickman scored in the lane at 14:13 in the stretch.
Saint Peter's then went on a 9-4 spurt to trim the deficit to 20-17. Fields started the run with three-straight points after making the first of two free throws at 13:53 and a layup at 13:34 for his first points in a Peacocks uniform. After Attenberry made a layup at 13:25, Chris Burke (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) and D.J. Griggs traded points before Howard Sellars (Coatesvillem Pa./Coatesville Area) notched his first career basket on a layup at 11:14 and Welton scored in the lane at 10:46 to make it a three-point margin.
LIU Brooklyn then went on a 15-5 run to increase its advantage to 35-22 with 4:54 left in the stanza. Martin sparked the surge with three baskets from behind the arc for nine points. The Blackbirds went into the locker room with a 39-32 advantage.
Saint Peter's scored eight of the first 10 points to start the second half thanks to baskets from four points from Welton and a bucket by Dominique and Burke to cut the margin to 43-40 with 16:28 left.
The Peacocks then trimmed the margin to 47-46 with 14:09 left after a Dominique layup, but a tradition 3-point play by Reed and a pair of treys by Parga gave LIU Brooklyn a 56-46 lead with 12:33 on the clock.
Saint Peter's began to chip away at the lead and used an 18-8 run after trailing by nine points to take its first lead at 69-63 with 4:50 left after an up and under basket by Washington. The junior started the run with the squad's first 3-pointer of the afternoon at 9:06 and had six points in the surge. Dominique fueled the run with seven points, including a dunk at 6:19 to get the Peacocks fans on their feet.
Reed reclaimed the lead for the Blackbirds on two free throws and Fields gave Saint Peter's the lead for the final time on a traditional 3-point play with 3:29 left, but Atterberry gave the three-time defending Northeast Conference champions the lead it would not relinquish on a trey 12 seconds later and LIU Brooklyn went on for the season-opening decision.
Dominique, who sat out last season after transferring from Fordham, eclipsed his career highs with the Rams of 10 points and 11 rebounds in his Peacocks debut and also notched his first career double-double and fifth career double-digit rebound performance.
Welton joined Dominique in the starting lineup in his collegiate debut. Fields made his Saint Peter's debut and finished with six points off the bench after sitting out last season due to the NCAA transfer regulations and coming from Fairfield. Trevis Wyche (Neptune, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) made his collegiate debut in the starting lineup and registered four points, seven assists and three steals while Sellars saw his first collegiate action off the bench and Kris Rolle (Miami, Fla./Monsignor Edward Pace [Colby Community College) saw his first time since joining the team from community college.
"We learned a lot from this game today and we will be ready for our next game on Tuesday night," said Dominique
Saint Peter's returns to action on Tuesday when the squad makes its home debut against Hampton. Game time is 7 p.m. The Pirates are coming off a 77-69 win against William & Mary on Friday.
