LIU and Marist eye Belfast Classic triumph

LIU Brooklyn and Marist College will go for Belfast Classic glory tonight after they won their respective semi-finals in the Samson bracket of the tournament.

LIU’s Blackbirds saw off the Albany Great Danes in an 80-77 thriller, while Marist’s Red Foxes defeated the Dartmouth Big Green 76-58 in the opener at the SSE Arena.

But it was the second game that had all the action as LIU came back from a nine-point deficit at the half to reach the Championship game at Albany’s expense.

Guard Raiquan Clark had a stunning 27-point game for the Blackbirds, which also included seven rebounds, while starting guards Ahmad Clark and Cameron Healy combined for 46 of Albany’s points.

It was the Great Danes who led at the interval 32-23, but Clark and Julian Batts led the second-half resurgence for LIU, who tied it with 4:27 to go before Jashaun Agosto landed two free throws in the final 17 seconds to give them the three-point lead.

Devonte Campbell had a threepoint effort with two seconds left on the clock to tie it for Albany, but the shot missed the target.

Meanwhile, Marist kept Dartmouth quiet as they booked their place with an emphatic victory.

Brian Parker led the Red Foxes with 18 points and six assists, while Aleksandar Dozic added eight rebounds and Ryan Funk went four from six on three-pointers. Chris Knight was seven for 13 with 16 points for Dartmouth.

Marist led at the half thanks to Funk’s incredible four for five run from the three-point line, giving them a 41-31 advantage, but Dartmouth pulled it back to seven points with five minutes to go.

But the Big Green went scoreless for the final 4:27, with Parker adding five points as Marist stretched away for victory.

In today’s action, the Goliath bracket semi-finals see the Milwaukee Panthers take on the Buffalo Bulls at 10.30am, with the San Francisco Dons and SFA Lumberjacks meeting at 1pm.

Albany and Dartmouth clash at 5pm in their consolation game before LIU and Marist contest the Championship game at 7.30pm. Close watch: Marist College’s Isaiah Lamb puts pressure on Dartmouth College’s Brendan Barry at the SSE Arena