Game #22: Le Moyne (11-10, 6-2 NEC) vs. LIU (12-8, 6-1 NEC)
Info: Thursday, Jan. 29 | 7:00 p.m. | Brooklyn, N.Y. | Steinberg Wellness Center
Watch: NEC Front Row
Radio: FOX Sports 92.5 FM/1490 AM
Live Stats: https://www.liuathletics.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
LIU links: Schedule | Roster | Stats | News
 
Brooklyn, N.Y. — The Le Moyne College men's basketball team is on the road to take on the NEC-leading Long Island University Sharks. The Dolphins and Sharks have the same amount of conference wins, while the Sharks have one fewer loss and one fewer games played due to the snowstorm last weekend.

LAST TIME OUT
Le Moyne defeated FDU on the road for its fourth straight win on Monday, 87-74. The Dolphins superb shooting helped propel them to the victory, shooting 26-43 from the field and 13-21 from three-point range, both of which are the highest mark for the program in their three years as a Division I program. Redshirt junior guard Trent Mosquera scored a game-high 18 points, 15 of which coming in the first half, while adding six rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal. Junior guard Jakai Sanders contributed 16 points while adding six rebounds, a team-best three assists, and one steal. Junior guard/forward Tennessee Rainwater tallied eight points and tied for a team-best six rebounds in 25 minutes off of the bench. Sophomore guard Jakob Blakley and freshman guard Eli Greenberg each scored 11 points, while junior guard Samuel Hincapie and redshirt sophomore guard Deng Garang each added 10 points of their own in the victory.

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
Le Moyne and LIU are tied up 3-3 in their all-time series history. 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 took the next three meetings, including a 76-61 victory at Ted Grant Court during the 2024-25 season. Their most recent meeting occurred just 10 days ago, with the Dolphins claiming the victory at home, 83-77, to hand the Sharks their first conference loss of the 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, Chicago State and FDU, 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 four players earn Northeast Conference weekly Prime Performer honors.
Shilo Jackson – 11/24, 12/1, 12/8, 12/30, 1/6, 1/12, 1/21                  Jakai Sanders – 11/17, 12/22
Trent Mosquera – 11/10, 12/1, 12/8, 1/21, 1/27                                 Tennessee Rainwater – 1/27

NET RANKINGS
Through games on January 84, Le Moyne is 253rd in the latest NCAA NET rankings, second among NEC members, while LIU is ranked 202nd, which is tops among NEC members.

DOLPHINS IN THE NEC STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Shilo Jackson leads the NEC in field goal percentage (.656) (9th nationally, but Le Moyne student-athletes don't qualify for national rankings during the institution's transition period), rebounding (8.3) (57th nationally), offensive rebounding (2.8) (87th nationally), and double-doubles (8) (tied for 26th nationally). He is second in made free throws (74) and blocks (1.7) (tied for 65th nationally), fourth in defensive rebounding (5.5) (87th nationally), eighth in scoring (14.8), ninth in free throw percentage (.725) and 19th in assists (2.2). Trent Mosquera is second in the NEC with a 40.0 three-point percentage (tied for 40th nationally), third in three-pointers per game (2.8), fifth in defensive rebounding (4.9), sixth in steals (1.5), ninth in minutes (32.1), blocks (0.8) and scoring (14.4), 10th in rebounding (5.7) and 21st in assists (2.1). Deng Garang is 13th in blocks (0.7), 16th in three pointers (1.4), 17th in minutes (30.0) and steals (1.0), and 23rd in scoring (11.1). Jakai Sanders is second in assists per game (4.0), third in assist/turnover ratio (1.8), fourth in made free throws (72), eighth in free throw percentage (.727), and 16th in minutes (30.0).

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 five-plus seasons of games leading the Dolphins, Champion has posted an 81-89 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 39-72 record overall, including 25-30 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 recorded a 6-1 record in NEC play so far this season. 

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 leads the team in scoring this season at 16.1 points per game, and is shooting 48.7% from three-point range on 4 attempts per contest this season.
 
Davis led the team in scoring with 24 points in their loss to the Dolphins earlier this month, while adding four rebounds and three assists. Davis leads the squad in assists at 3.9 per contest and averages 15.5 points per game, which is second best on the team.
 
Fuller and senior guard Greg Gordon each tallied 20 points in their victory over Stonehill College on Friday, 66-63. Gordon added six rebounds, two blocks and a steal in the win. He is shooting a team-best 55.5% from the field and averages a team-high 5.7 rebounds per game this season. Junior guard Jomo Goings added 10 points, three assists and three blocks while shooting a perfect 6-6 at the free throw line in the win.

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 return home to take on Stonehill College on Saturday at 1:00 pm.