LIU 78, Quinnipiac 75

Julian Boyd scored 21 points and Long Island University-Brooklyn sank just enough free throws down the stretch to beat Quinnipiac 78-75 Sunday night in the Northeast Conference tournament semifinal round.

Boyd laid in the basket that put the top-seeded Blackbirds (24-8) ahead for good, 71-69, with 3:38 to play, but they couldn't convert all their free throw chances in the final two minutes to get comfortably ahead.

But while the Blackbirds went 1 of 2 from the line five different times in the final 1:46, their defense also stepped up. LIU forced five Bobcats misses from the floor during that span until James Johnson, who finished with 17 for Quinnipiac (18-13), hit a last-second 3-pointer for the final margin.

The Blackbirds advanced to the NEC tournament final Wednesday night, in which they will play third-seeded Robert Morris. The Colonials beat LIU in the only regular-season meeting between the two teams.