LIU-Brooklyn 74, Norfolk State 72
Long Island University-Brooklyn forward Landon Atterberry tied the game with 16 seconds left and then guard Gerrell Martin hit the game-winning shot as time expired Sunday to upset visiting, red-hot Norfolk State 74-72 in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Trailing 72-69, Atterberry tied the game at 72-72 on a three-point play with 16 seconds left. Then, LIU guard/forward Troy Joseph blocked Norfolk guard Malcolm Hawkins' potential game-winner with 6 seconds remaining, paving the way for a catch-and-shoot by Martin to give the Blackbirds (2-4) just their second victory of the season.
Martin led LIU-Brooklyn with 16 points as all five Blackbirds starters reached double figures.
Norfolk State's loss was its first since Nov. 19 as the Spartans came into the fourth meeting between the two schools on a three-game winning streak. The Spartans (5-3) got a monster game from Hawkins with 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Norfolk State, which won both its NIT Tip-Off games in nearby Piscataway, N.J., had its hands full Sunday. The Blackbirds trailed by just two points at halftime, 36-34, and never fell behind by more than five in the second half before tying it at 62-62 with less than five minutes to go.
But when Norfolk State got a 3-pointer from guard/forward Anell Alexis with 3:22 left, the Spartans built a six-point lead and then clung to a three-point advantage with less than a minute to go. When Norfolk center Brandon Goode hacked Atterberry on his layup, Atterberry calmly sank the free throw to pull even and set the stage for the Blackbirds' late-game heroics.
LIU-Brooklyn, which is fresh off an NCAA Tournament appearance, also got solid games from Atterberry with 15 points and six rebounds, while forward E.J. Reed chipped in 13 points, Joseph added 12 points and Jason Brickman added 10 points and a career-high 14 assists.
Goode, who finished with 17 points and 11 boards, was one of three other Norfolk State players in double figures, along with 16 points and eight rebounds from Alexis and 14 points, four rebounds and four assists from guard Pendarvis Williams.
