Game #19: Le Moyne (8-10, 3-2 NEC) vs. LIU (11-7, 5-0 NEC)
Info: Monday, Jan. 19 | 3:00 p.m. | Syracuse, N.Y. | Ted Grant Court
Watch: NEC Front Row
Radio: FOX Sports 92.5 FM/1490 AM
Live Stats: https://lemoynedolphins.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
LIU links: Schedule | Roster | Stats | News

Syracuse, N.Y. — The Le Moyne College men's basketball team returns to Ted Grant Court to take on the NEC-leading Long Island University Sharks.

LAST TIME OUT
The Dolphins got back into the win column with a victory over the Chicago State University Cougars on Saturday, 72-57. Junior guard/forward Tennessee Rainwater recorded a team-high 17 points off of the bench, while adding four assists and three rebounds.  Redshirt junior guard Trent Mosquera contributed 16 points while recording a team-high nine rebounds and two blocks.  Graduate student forward Shilo Jackson had 13 points, shooting 4-6 from the field and 5-6 from the free throw line, while adding four rebounds.  Freshman guard Eli Greenberg recorded a team-high seven assists off of the bench, while junior guard Samuel Hincapie contributed 11 points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes off of the bench.

YEAR #3
The Dolphins are in their third year transitioning to the Division I level (as members of the NEC) and Le Moyne is the only school in the third year of the transition process. The Dolphins went 15-17 in their first season at the Division I level, including 9-7 in NEC action to earn the fourth seed in the conference tournament. The Dolphins won their first game of the NEC Championship over FDU, 82-61, before falling in the semifinals at Merrimack. The program went 9-23 a year ago, including 4-12 in NEC play, and was the eighth seed in the conference tournament.
 
SERIES HISTORY
LIU holds a 3-2 edge in the all-time series history with the Dolphins.  Their first meeting dates back to the 1960-61 season, where the Dolphins recorded a 66-57 victory, and did not meet again until Le Moyne joined the NEC during the 2023-24 season, with Le Moyne claiming the victory in their first ever conference matchup, 87-74. LIU has taken the last three meetings, with the most recent a 76-61 victory at Ted Grant Court during the 2024-25 season.  

COMMON OPPONENTS
The Dolphins and Sharks did not play any common opponents during non-conference action, but both have defeated NEC foes, Saint Francis and Chicago State, while Le Moyne has lost to Mercyhurst and Central Connecticut State and the Sharks have defeated both.

JESUIT CONNECTION
The Dolphins faced three fellow Jesuit institutions this season. They fell at Xavier University on November 6, 74-69, fell at home to Fairfield University on November 22, 97-83, and lost to Boston College, 72-64, on December 28.

WELCOME BACK
The Dolphins feature six returning letterwinners and two redshirts. Sam Donnelly is a second-year graduate student, Nate Fouts, Trent Mosquera and Kaelin Thomas are redshirt juniors, Deng Garang and Trevor Roe are redshirt sophomores and Jakob Blakley and Isaac Nyakundi are sophomores.

NEW FACES
The Dolphins welcomed seven new players to the program for 2025-26. Ametri Moss, who spent two years apiece at State College of Florida and North Florida, and Shilo Jackson, who joined the team following two years each at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Vincennes, are graduate students; Tennessee Rainwater, who enrolled at Le Moyne following two seasons at Utah Tech, and Samuel Hincapie, who came to Le Moyne after two years at Lake Land College, are juniors and Jakai Sanders is a sophomore after one year at Saint Peter's, while Eli Greenberg and Josiah Lee are freshmen.

NEC PRESEASON POLL
In the NEC preseason coaches' poll, the Dolphins were picked to finish ninth in the regular season standings, the same position they finished last year. LIU, which advanced to the semifinals last year, was the unanimous selection to win the league, while back-to-back regular season champion Central Connecticut State landed second in the preseason coaches poll. Stonehill College finished third and Mercyhurst University, which is eligible for the conference tournament this year, placed fourth. FDU, which fell to CCSU in the semifinals, landed fifth and Chicago State, last year's seventh seed, moved up a spot from a year ago. Defending tournament champion Saint Francis University placed seventh in the poll and Wagner College, the 2024 champion, finished eighth. Conference newcomer University of New Haven rounded out the poll in 10th.

PRIME PERFORMERS
The Dolphins have had three players earn Northeast Conference weekly Prime Performer honors.
Trent Mosquera – 11/10, 12/1, 12/8                           Jakai Sanders – 11/17, 12/22
Shilo Jackson – 11/24, 12/1, 12/8, 12/30, 1/6, 1/12

NET RANKINGS
Through games on January 17, Le Moyne is 276th in the latest NCAA NET rankings, third among NEC members, while LIU is ranked 189th, which is the highest ranking among NEC members.

DOLPHINS IN THE NEC STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Shilo Jackson leads the NEC in field goal percentage (.640) (13th nationally, but Le Moyne student-athletes don't qualify for national rankings during the institution's transition period), rebounding (8.4) (55th nationally), offensive rebounding (3.0) (tied for 67th nationally), and double-doubles (8) (tied for 20th nationally). He is second in made free throws (67), third in blocks (1.8) (tied for 54th nationally), fourth in defensive rebounding (5.47) (tied for 95th nationally), eighth in scoring (14.4), ninth in free throw percentage (.720) and 19th in assists (2.2). Trent Mosquera is second in the NEC with a 37.4 three-point percentage (tied for 90th nationally), third in three-pointers per game (2.6), fourth in steals (1.6), fifth in defensive rebounding (5.1), ninth in minutes (31.2), 10th in rebounding (5.8), 11th in scoring (13.5), 11th in blocks (0.7) and 22nd in assists (2.1). Deng Garang is 12th in blocks (0.7), 17th in minutes (29.8), steals (1.1) and three-pointers per game (1.4), and 21st in scoring (11.2). Jakai Sanders is third in assists per game (3.9), fourth in made free throws (60), fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.6), seventh in free throw percentage (.759), and 22nd in minutes (29.2).

COACH CHAMP
Le Moyne head coach Nate Champion '14 is the sixth-youngest head coach in Division I this season following back-to-back years as the second-youngest, celebrating his 34th birthday in early December. Tevon Saddler (30) at Nicholls is the youngest, while Saah Nimley (Charleston Southern), John Andrzejek (Campbell) and Zach Chu (Radford) are all 32 and Ronnie Thomas (Longwood) is 33. In his first five seasons of games leading the Dolphins, Champion has posted a 70-79 record and led the Dolphins to the conference tournament each season and the 2020 NCAA Tournament (canceled prior to first game due to COVID pandemic). Champion served as an assistant coach at fellow NEC member Stonehill during the 2016-17 season.

FIRST WINS
The Dolphins earned their first win as a Division I program on November 13, 2023 over Division III SUNY Canton, 105-46. They claimed their first victory as a Division I program over a Division I program on November 21, 2023 at CSUN, 80-70, during the first game of the Golden State Hoops Jam. They collected their first home victory as a Division I program over a Division I program on December 16, 2023 over Dartmouth College, 80-54. The 'Phins earned their first NEC victory on January 6, 2024 at FDU, 74-63.

SCOUTING LIU
The Sharks are led by Bronx native and former NBA point guard Rod Strickland, who is in his fourth-year with the program. LIU has posted a 38-71 record overall, including 24-29 in NEC play, under his direction.  As a player, Strickland was an All-American for the DePaul Blue Demons before enjoying a 17-year career in the National Basketball Association.
 
The Sharks returned eight players, including three starters, from its 2024-25 team that went 17-16 overall and 12-4 in NEC play, while adding six transfers and one freshman. 
 
LIU went 6-7 during non-conference play, which included wins against James Madison and Missouri State, and has opened NEC play 5-0. 
 
In their conference opening 84-78 win over Central Connecticut, redshirt senior guard Malachi Davis scored 23 points, while graduate student guard/forward Jamal Fuller added 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Fuller is shooting 47.6% from three-point range on 3.7 attempts per contest this season.
 
In a 66-59 win over FDU on Saturday, senior guard Greg Gordon tallied a game-high 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, to go along with six rebounds and three assists. He is averaging 14.9 points per game while shooting 57.1% from the field this season. Junior guard Jomo Goings contributed 13 points while adding seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Davis scored 15 points to go along with a game-high seven assists and five rebounds. He leads the team in assists at 4.1 per game and is second in scoring at 15.4 per contest. 

DEDICATED DUO
Le Moyne's Chris Granozio and Don Familo are in their 34th season calling men's basketball games. They are currently the third-longest tenured Division I radio broadcast duo. They trail only Wichita State's Mike Kennedy and Dave Dahl (46th) and Providence's John Rooke and Joe Hassett (37th). Baylor's John Morris and Pat Nunley (31st) and BYU's Greg Wrubell and Mark Durrant (29th) round out the top five.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Dolphins stay home to take on Wagner College on Friday at 7:00 pm