After visiting the Red Storm, Perri’s crew will head to Philadelphia to visit Saint Joseph’s on Nov. 25 before returning to the city two days later for the Thanksgiving Day game against Long Island’s Seawolves.

The season opener will be broadcast live on ESPN3 at 7:30 p.m., while the Thanksgiving tilt with Stony Brook will be available on ESPNU.

On Nov. 30, the Blackbirds will head back to the City of Brotherly Love to tangle with Temple in another nationally broadcast contest via ESPN3.

The home opener at the Steinberg Wellness Center will take place on Dec. 3 against New Hampshire. The school also announced that all home games will be broadcast via internet this season on NEC Front Row for those who are unable to show up and support their Blackbirds in person in Downtown Brooklyn.

LIU will stay in Brooklyn for five of its seven December games, including matchups with Florida International (Dec. 18) and Hofstra (Dec. 28) at the Barclays Center. The second of those contests will be part of the annual Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival at the home of the Brooklyn Nets.

The Blackbirds will try to re-establish themselves as NEC kings beginning Jan. 3 against Bryant at the Wellness Center, kicking off a stretch of three consecutive league home games, including visits by Fairleigh Dickinson (Jan. 5) and Sacred Heart (Jan. 8).

After going on the road to face NEC rivals Wagner (Jan. 10) and Central Connecticut State (Jan. 15), the Blackbirds will once again play on the Nets’ herringbone-designed floor at Barclays against defending NEC champion Mount St. Mary’s on Jan. 17. That game will be part of a men’s-women’s basketball doubleheader between the schools at the state-of-the-art arena.

The 40th annual Battle of Brooklyn showdown between LIU and St. Francis will take place Jan. 31 on Remsen Street as the Blackbirds try to stretch their winning streak in the series to five after edging the up-and-coming Terriers, 69-68, last season.

LIU will host St. Francis at the Wellness Center on Feb. 26, highlighting a busy month in which they play four straight games against Pennsylvania rivals Robert Morris and St. Francis (Pa.). The Blackbirds will also host Wagner (Feb. 21) and Sacred Heart (Feb. 28) in their Downtown digs, where they went a disappointing 5-7 last season after putting up a 13-4 mark during their run to a third consecutive NEC crown in 2012-13.

* * *

Coming off a disappointing end to an otherwise promising season, St. Francis Brooklyn has to be looking forward to a strong start to the 2014-15 campaign, when the Terriers visit Georgetown on Nov. 15 before hosting their home opener against Army on Nov. 18 at the Pope Center.

Coach Glenn Braica, who led the Terriers to an 18-14 mark last season, including a painful first-round loss in the NEC Tournament, announced earlier this month that St. Francis had completed its 2014-15 recruiting class with the signing of three new players.

Freshman forward Keon Williams of Kentucky and junior forwards Jonathan Doss (Chicago) and Antonio Jenifer (Maryland) round out the class of seven newcomers, joining previously reported signees Tyreek Jewell (Bronx), Chris Hooper (Manhattan), Glenn Sanabria (Staten Island) and Gunnar Olafsson (Iceland).

“I’m extremely excited that we were able to add Keon, Jon and Antonio at the late signing period and I believe that all three will contribute to our success,” said Braica.  

“They each possess a good feel for the game and are student-athletes who will fit in well with our program.”

The 6-foot-4 Williams, who was selected to play in the prestigious Kentucky/Indiana All-Star boys’ contest at Rupp Arena, scored more than 1,000 points in his career at John Hardin High School and finished fourth on the school’s all-time scoring list.

He averaged 18.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 1.9 blocks per game last year.  The Bulldogs won back-to-back 17th District and 5th Region championships and reached the Sweet 16 quarterfinals in Williams’ sophomore and junior seasons.

Doss, described as a 6-foot-4 wing, will provide the Terriers with another option from behind the arc.  

Last season, the Chicago native shot 40 percent from long distance en route to averaging 18.0 points and 6.6 rebounds at Eastern Wyoming Community College.  He averaged 18.2 points and 4.0 rebounds as a senior at Taft High School.  Doss is also an excellent athlete and has the ability to get to the rim, according to Braica.

The 6-foot-8 Jenifer was an NJCAA All-American at Hagerstown C.C. during his sophomore season in 2012-13 after averaging 21 points per game while pulling down eight rebounds and shooting 47 percent in 33 games.  

As a freshman, he helped lead the squad to a 29-5 record and a trip to the NJCAA tournament following a Region XX championship.  Jenifer was seventh in the Maryland Junior College Athletic Association in rebounding (8.4) and also registered 49 blocked shots.  

As a senior at Potomac High School (Md.), Jennifer scored 26 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and blocked four shots in the Wolverines Maryland 3A South quarterfinal victory.

For the complete St. Francis and LIU basketball schedules, click and/or visit these links: http://www.liuathletics.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball&; http://www.sfcathletics.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball&

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