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Staten Island, NY - No. 3 LIU Brooklyn shot a blistering 65.3 percent en route to posting a 94-82 victory over No. 2 Wagner in the semifinal round of the 2013 Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament at the Spiro Sports Center. With the win, the Blackbirds improve to 19-13 while moving on to Tuesday night's Championship game as the Seahawks fall to 19-12.

LIU Brooklyn took control of the game with a game-changing 20-1 first-half run that allowed the visitors to open up a 32-11 lead with 5:48 to play until halftime following a Gerrell Martin dunk. All told, the Blackbirds went 7-for-8 from the field over the game-changing spurt that took 6:37 while forcing Wagner into six missed shots and four turnovers. The Seahawks would trim the advantage to 17 on a pair of occasions, before going into intermission down 49-29.

In the opening stanza, LIU Brooklyn shot 59.3 percent (16-of-27), including 60.0 percent (6-of-10) from long range, while posting a 19-9 advantage on the glass.

Wagner, meanwhile, shot just 39.1 percent (9-of-23) from the field, including 25.0 percent (2-of-8) from deep.

After halftime, the Blackbirds extended their lead to a game-high 24 points on two occasions, the second of which came on a Garner fast break layup that made it 72-48 with 9:20 to play. The never-say-die Seahawks responded with nine-straight points in just over a minute to get back in the game. Junior Latif Rivers (Elizabeth, NJ / Avon Old Farms (CT)) got things started with an old-fashioned three-point play, a layup from senior Jonathon Williams (Richmond, CA / City College of San Francisco) and a Marcus Burton (So., Charlotte, NC / David W. Butler) four-point play to trim the deficit to 15 at 72-57 with 8:12 remaining.

Unfortunately, the visitors answered with four-straight points to push the lead back to 19 at 76-57 with 7:22 to play. Wagner would trim the deficit to 11 on two more occasions, but get no closer in falling in the semifinal round for the second year in a row by a 94-82 count.

Williams scored 21 of his game-high 23 points in the second half to lead all players. Ortiz had an outstanding game with 11 points, nine assists and eight rebounds while turning the ball over just twice in 35 minutes. Burton added 18 points and Rivers 13 to round out the double-figure scorers for the Seahawks.

Garner paced six double-figure scorers for LIU Brooklyn with 23 points while NEC Player of the Year Jamal Olasewere finished with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

The Blackbirds shot a blistering 65.3 percent (32-of-49) for the game, including 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from deep. The Green & White, meanwhile, converted on 40.5 percent (30-of-74) from the field, but made good on just 16.7 percent (4-of-24) from long range.

Wagner outscored the visitors in points off turnovers (28-15), in the paint (48-44) and in second chance points (18-5).

Notes:
* Williams has scored at least 20 points in each of the last five games and eight times for the season.

* In his aforementioned last five games, Williams is averaging 20.8 points per game while shooting 62.5 percent (40-for-64) from the field.

* Over two seasons on Grymes Hill, Williams has hit for at least 20 points on 12 occasions while pacing the squad in scoring 28 times in 57 games. All told, he has notched 825 points (14.5 ppg) and 322 rebounds (5.6 rpg).

* Wagner lost for the third-straight time in the semifinals and is now 3-8 when playing for a chance to go to the finals.

* The Seahawks are 17-25, all-time, in 26 trips to the NEC Tournament and 10-7 in games played on Staten Island (6-6 Spiro Sports Center).

* Wagner saw its 22-game winning streak when scoring at least 80 snapped.

* Rivers' 13 points give him 1,128 points for his career while moving him past Harry Orlando into 29th place in the school's all-time annals.

* The 92 points given up were the most allowed by the Seahawks since a 102-91 loss to Columbia on December 8, 2009.

* Ortiz averaged 12.7 points, 9.7 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game against LIU Brooklyn this season while posting a 2.9 assist/turnover ratio.

* He also now has 63 steals and 177 assists on the year, good for a tie for sixth and seventh, respectively in the single-season record book.

* The 27 Blackbird turnovers were the most forced by the Seahawks since Princeton was pressured into 28 miscues on November 12, 2011.

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