Box Score (PDF)


NEWARK, N.J. – Senior Akeem Johnson completed a layup with :05 remaining for the most significant two of his 10 points, giving St. Francis Brooklyn an 89-87 win over NJIT at Fleisher Athletic Center on Sunday. The Highlanders had erased a 23-point deficit starting with just 7:18 left to play, tying the game on a three-point play by senior PJ Miller with :26 to go.

Johnson, who drove through traffic down the left side of the lane for his game-winning basket, stopped a Terriers' drought of 7:27 without a field goal. Prior to that point, the Highlanders had been on a 28-5 run that starting with a 19-0 spurt with 7:18 remaining.

With less than five seconds to go following the bucket, Miller took the inbounds pass into the frontcourt and misfired on a game-winning, three-point attempt from straight away at 23-feet out. NJIT actually appeared to tie the game when freshman Ky Howard grabbed the rebound in mid-air and connected on a desperation layup attempt under the basket.

Unfortunately for the Highlanders, what would have been a dramatic game-tying shot was waived off by the officials for being out of Howard's hands a split-second after the final buzzer.

It was the third time this season Miller fell short on a last-second prayer – this time with a chance to complete the largest comeback in the program's Division I era (which started in 2006-07). In the season opener at Providence, his game-winning heave from 30 feet away was off the mark. Eight days later at South Carolina State, a game-tying 23-foot jumper fell just short at the buzzer.

But the point guard from Fort Washington, Md., was perhaps the most significant contributor to the comeback bid. Miller had a career-high 14 points, including the Highlanders' final seven points of the game. It was his three-point play on a drive from the right baseline with :26 left that tied the game for the first time in more than 36 minutes. Miller also added a game-high tying five assists along with five rebounds.

“PJ was big. He stepped as a senior like we expect him to,” Head Coach Jim Engles said. “He made some key finishes down the stretch and hit some big free throws and kept us right where we needed to be. He did a great job today.”

Senior G Ryan Woods led the Highlanders in scoring with 19 points. Senior G Chris Flores was NJIT's only other double-digit scorer with 16 points before fouling out with 2:16 left to play. The conference's leading scorer had struggled through most of the game before solidifying the team's late run with 12 second-half points.

In fact, Flores got the late run started by knocking home a layup to cut the game-high deficit from 23 points down to 21. He scored seven of the first eight points during the 19-0 run.

For the second consecutive game, freshman G Ky Howard led the team in rebounding with eight. He also contributed nine points, two assists and two steals.

Sophomore G Jalen Cannon, a high school teammate of NJIT's Daquan Holiday, finished with both a game-high 23 points and 12 rebounds for his 15^th career double-double.  Junior G Ben Mockford scored 15 points to join Cannon and Johnson as the Terriers' double-figure scorers.

For the third time in their last three home games against Division I opponents, the Highlanders found themselves behind double-digits in the second half. Previously, they were able to erase a 14-point deficit against Army on Dec. 11, but fell short from a 12-point margin vs. North Carolina A&T on Dec. 13.

“Again, I'm pleased that our guys never gave up even when facing a 20-point deficit late in the game,” Engles said. “But we can't keep doing this. We've had a tendency to fall down early in games before we decide we're going to really start playing. Fortunately, we've won a couple of these games. But today, the tide turned on us.”

Many of the game's final statistics finished fairly even. St. Francis Brooklyn had slight edges in shooting (46.8 percent to 44.8), and rebounding (40-39) while NJIT held the trim edge in creating turnovers (15 to 14).

The Terriers' did hold a significant advantage in free-throw percentage, canning 72.7 percent (24-33) to the Highlanders' 65.7 percent (65.7). Two of the successful free-throws that came at a pivotal time were sunk by Mockford with 1:25 left after a technical foul was called against Woods for taunting. The pair of makes kept it a two-possession game at 85-80.

St. Francis Brooklyn led for most of the first half starting with a three-pointer by Mockford at 16:21, which put the Terriers up, 7-6, and started a 20-5 run. The lead swelled to 13 on a layup by Cannon that increased the lead to 24-11 with 7:15 to go.

Though the Highlanders chopped the lead down to five points at 30-25 with 4:24 to go, the Terriers ended the half on a 8-1 run to take a 38-26 lead into the half.

The lead grew to a game-high 23 points the first of two times following a pair of free throws by Cannon to run the score to 76-53 with 9:22 to go. The other occasion, which again was built with two free throws by Cannon, marked the last of the scoring by the Terriers for the next 5:16 until a free throw by senior G Dre Calloway halted the 19-0 Highlanders' run.

For the second consecutive game, NJIT played with just an eight-man rotation as forwards Terrence Smith (left foot) and Quentin Bastian (left ankle) remained out due to injury. In a balanced attack, all eight Highlanders scored at least six points.

Senior F Odera Nweke, who set career-highs in both points (eight) and rebounds (six) at Villanova on Friday, set a new career-high with seven rebounds Sunday to go along with six points and two blocks.

With the loss, NJIT fell to 6-7 for the season. The Highlanders will look to snap a two-game skid when they start the New Year with a bout at Lafayette (5-10) on Wednesday.

St. Francis Brooklyn has now won back-to-back games for the first time this season and will next return to action by hosting Quinnipiac (4-7) on Thursday.


Write-up courtesy of Matt Provence