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Brooklyn, NY — After Brooklyn, NY -- After its historic three-peat run ended in 2013, LIU fans were hungry for another NEC men’s. basketball title. They got one in 2018, but the hunt then began anew.
For eight seasons, the top-seeded Sharks circled, hungry for another bite of championship glory. This March, they finally feasted with a 79-70 win over #3 Mercyhurst in front of a raucous home crowd to bring home the program’s seventh conference crown.
The dangerous duo of Malachi Davis and Greg Gordon, a pair of All-NEC First Team guards who accounted for LIU’s first 20 points of the night, carried the Sharks back to the pinnacle of the NEC mountaintop with 24 points apiece.
Before the nets were cut down, the duo was named to the NEC All-Tournament Team. Gordon added even more hardware to his trophy case as he was pegged the MVP of the NEC Tournament after he averaged 17.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists during the Sharks’ race to the tournament championship.
The shots were falling on both sides of the court and when the dust settled on the first 20 minutes, it was LIU that took a slim 42-40 advantage into the break. But after nine lead changes and five draws, the Sharks delivered a series of dominant blows over the final five minutes.
After Qadir Martin knotted up the score at 63-63 on a drive to the rim, Fuller followed a step-back three with a layup to ignite a game-ending 16-7 run that put the Lakers away and put the finishing touches on the Sharks’ NEC Tournament run.
With its seventh NEC Tournament cup, LIU, which has gone 9-0 as the #1 seed in the postseason since the turn of the century, has passed FDU and now ranks first among all current members in tournament titles.
Netting 26 and 20 points, respectively, Bernie Blunt III and Martin represented Mercyhurst on the NEC All-Tournament Team. Rounding out the five-member team was Stonehill’s Davante Hackett.
The Sharks will learn their NCAA Tournament destination and opponent during the 2026 NCAA Selection Show, which will air on CBS at 6 p.m.
2026 NEC All-Tournament Team
MVP: Greg Gordon, LIU
Malachi Davis, LIU
Bernie Blunt III, Mercyhurst
Quadir Martin, Mercyhurst
Davante Hackett, Stonehill