C.J. Garner scored a career-high 31 points and LIU Brooklyn punched its ticket for the NCAA tournament with a 91-70 win over Mount St. Mary’s on Tuesday night in the finals of the Northeast Conference tournament at New York.

Jamal Olasewere added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Blackbirds (20-13), who became the only team to win three straight conference tournament titles. Coach Jack Perri also became the third coach in the conference to win the title in his first year on the job.

After a frantic back-and-forth first half, LIU Brooklyn opened the second half with a 35-31 lead. Led by a decisive dunk by Olasewere and a three-point play from Garner, the Blackbirds went on a 13-4 run to go ahead by 13 only 6 minutes into the half.

LIU Brooklyn didn’t allow Mount St. Mary’s to pull closer than 12 the rest of the way.

Hartford to play postseason: For the first time since making the jump to Division I for the 1984-85 season, the Hartford men’s basketball team has been invited to participate in a postseason tournament.

Hartford’s opponent will be announced at a later date, however, tickets for the 7:00 p.m. tip are available for purchase after 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday by contacting the Malcolm and Brenda Berman Athletics Ticket Office. The box office, located in the Reich Family Pavilion (Sports Center), can also be reached by calling 860-768-HAWK or tickets can be purchased online via www.HartfordHawksTickets.com. The Box Office will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Ticket prices are: general admission ($5), gallery seating ($12), lower chair back ($15), courtside ($20) and VIP ($30). The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament was created in 2009. What began as a 16-team event quickly expanded to 24 teams in 2011 and is now a 32-team postseason event, with invitations extended only to teams outside of the BCS power conferences. Last season, Mercer became the third team in four years to win the CIT Championship on the road, defeating Utah State to capture the 2012 title. Santa Clara captured the 2011 CIT, winning at Iona to finish with 24 wins, the most in over 40 years. Missouri State (2010) and Old Dominion (2009) were the first two teams to take home the CIT title. After matching the program record for regular season wins (17), the Hawks, who boast one of the youngest rosters in the nation with six sophomores and four freshmen, fell short of making their third-straight semifinal round appearance in the America East Championship last weekend in Albany, suffering a 69-62 loss as the third-seed to the sixth-seeded UMBC Retrievers.