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Men's basketball beats LIU Brooklyn, starts season 3-0

This past Friday in Montego Bay, Jamaica the RedHawks defeated LIU Brooklyn by the score of 78-74. This meeting marked the first ever matchup between the two programs and was a thrilling contest until the end.

The Redhawks started well in the first half -- competing steadily with the Blackbird offense until 5:22 left in the first half when the game shifted. Starting with a Rod Mills Jr. layup, the 'Hawks went on an 11-0 run to finish the half. This stretch was punctuated by a deep three from junior guard Darrian Ringo and set the tone for the 'Hawks as they took a 34-21 lead into the locker room.

The 'Hawks seemed fully in control of this matchup at the half, but the game shifted again as LIU Brooklyn began to chip away at the Red and White's 13-point lead.

The Blackbirds cut the 'Hawks lead to five with a layup by senior guard Joel Hernandez with 13:44 left in second. However, the 'Hawks began slowly pulling away, courtesy of layups by sophomore forward Bam Bowman, freshman forward Dalonte Brown and senior forward Logan McLane to extend the lead to 67-52 with 5:29 left in the second.

For the following minutes, the Blackbirds got hot around the rim -- going on a 13-3 run over a two minute span. With 2:59 remaining in the contest, LIU Brooklyn was down 70-65 after a free throw by junior guard Joel Hernandez.

However, at the 2:15 mark, McLane dunked to give the 'Hawks a 72-65 lead. The Blackbirds would prove resilient -- cutting the lead to four with 57 seconds remaining by a three from sophomore guard Julian Batts. Mills and Ringo were fouled in the last minute to help the 'Hawks pull away with a 78-74 point victory.

Both McLane and freshman guard Jalen Adaway finished the contest with double-doubles in addition to Mills putting up 19 points off the bench. Ringo broke the single-game Miami record for steals with eight in addition to tallying 12 points, six rebounds and nine assists.

The 'Hawks were fortunate to outlast LIU Brooklyn in the contest despite giving up 53 points in the second half.

This win marks the first time that the 'Hawks have started the season 3-0 since 1998 during the Wally Szczerbiak era.

The 'Hawks' next matchup is tonight at 10 p.m. against Hartford in what will be the conclusion of the Jamaica Classic. The game can be watched on CBS Sports.

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