BROOKLYN, NY - Barclays Center is the site of a number of big events on the college basketball calendar: Preseason NIT semifinals and finals, showcase doubleheaders, and the past few years, the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Come March, the Atlantic Coast Conference will stage their postseason event at the Atlantic Avenue edifice.
On this Wednesday evening before Christmas, the order of the day belonged to a local school, LIU Brooklyn. The women preceded the men in a twin bill at Barclays. On the evening, both Blackbird squads came up short. The women fell 57-45 to UMBC, while Niagara defeated the men 75-66.
The crowd barely broke 1,000. Observers could point out the mall across the street with shoppers in a dazed retail frenzy. The turnout was far from the greatest, but playing at Barclays on this evening was significant. It afforded the opportunity for a local program to get its day in the sun, so to speak, on this the calendar’s shortest day.
LIU, Long Island University, has had a storied past. Presently a member of the Northeast Conference, the school is part of Brooklyn, not Long Island. Across from Junior’s on Flatbush Avenue, LIU is Brooklyn. A full schedule at Barclays would be out of the question. The building promoting Brooklyn Hoops does it right by giving the Blackbirds a few dates in the arena each season.
The Nets, tournaments, and marquee teams on a national scale are all part of the Barclays scene; as is LIU, and justifiably so.
Subway entertainment en route to Barclays Center:
Outside Barclays Center on a December night:
Game action, as LIU takes on UMBC:
Officials Joe Barrise and Joshua Herze converse during a timeout:
As the women wrap up, the LIU men prepare to take the floor:
LIU and Niagara in game action:
The insignia tells it all:
LIU head coach Jack Perri addresses the media after the game:
As the saying goes, and to all, a good night:
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