Sophomore Jason Brickman gave the phrase “lending a hand” a whole new meaning as the first-place LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds continued to remain red hot last weekend, defeating Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac at home to earn him this week’s Choice Hotels/NEC Player of the Week honor. The 5-10 point guard averaged 12.5 assists per game highlighted by a career-high 16-assist outing in his team’s 99-89 victory over the Bobcats on Saturday that moved the Blackbirds within one win of clinching the top seed in the NEC Tournament. It marked the fourth-most assists in a game in Northeast Conference history and it tied the most assists in a game in NCAA Division I basketball this season. He also added 10 points to record his third double-double of the season. Two days prior, the San Antonio, TX product put on a nine-point, nine-assist effort as LIU Brooklyn posted a 101-93 win in overtime over the visiting Pioneers. He finished the week with 25 assists and just five turnovers in 73 minutes of action. Thanks to his two-game performance, Brickman moved to fifth in the nation with an average of 7.0 assists per game and continued to have a stranglehold on the top spot in the NEC, leading the next closest player by more than two helpers.