There’s electricity in Brooklyn after Long Island University snagged their way into this year’s March Madness. The LIU Sharks turned in a 79-70 win over Mercyhurst Tuesday night, clinching their seventh Northeast Conference crown and charging into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 16 seed.
The Sharks capped off an impressive 24-10 (15-3 NEC) season, making their first NCAA appearance since 2017-18 — and their first as the Sharks since the athletic merger. In all, this marks their eighth trip to the dance, where they’re set to face No. 1 Arizona on Friday at San Diego’s Viejas Arena.
How the Sharks Sealed Their NEC Crown
Mercyhurst drew first blood in the final, jumping out to a quick five-point edge. But it didn’t faze LIU for long. Malachi Davis, a redshirt senior, drilled a pair of threes and Greg Gordon followed up, shifting the momentum back to the home team.
Mercyhurst stayed scrappy, repeatedly pulling level before halftime, but LIU managed to take a 42-40 lead into the locker room.
The second half was a back-and-forth affair, with each squad fighting for control. The defining moment came with Jamal Fuller’s basket at 14:01 — from there, the Sharks never trailed again. Mason Porter-Brown’s pivotal three with less than two minutes left put the game on ice, and LIU coasted to the title.
Greg Gordon and Malachi Davis were unstoppable, each dropping 24 points. Porter-Brown added 14, and Fuller electrified with 10 points, a season-high 13 rebounds, and five assists for a double-double—his second of the year.
This triumph makes it the fifth time LIU has bagged both the regular-season and tournament NEC titles, joining legendary squads from 1984, 1997, 2011, and 2012.
March Madness Means More for LIU This Year
After dispatching Wagner in the semis, LIU had already locked up the NCAA auto-bid, thanks to Mercyhurst’s reclassification status. Even so, the Sharks played like everything was on the line, finishing the job in front of their fans.
And this year’s appearance isn’t just another stat in the record books. It’s LIU’s first March Madness trip since the Brooklyn and Long Island campus athletic departments joined forces in 2019 — now, they’ll square off against Arizona in a true David-and-Goliath opening showdown.
Rod Strickland’s Vision Becomes Reality
Credit for this resurgence lands squarely with head coach Rod Strickland. In just four seasons, he’s propelled LIU from the bottom to the bracket, engineering one of the year’s best turnarounds.
It hasn’t always been smooth. A tough 2022-23 led into another gritty 2023-24, with postseason dreams slipping just out of reach last spring. Yet, those near-misses served as fuel. Strickland turned adversity into the foundation for this season’s success.
This trip to the NCAA marks the first since LIU’s 2019 consolidation, a clear sign of the groundwork laid under Strickland’s watch. Early frustration faded into redemption, as the Sharks now have their shot against Arizona—and a season already worth celebrating.
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