Newark, N.J. – Tariq Francis put another offensive show with a game-high 23 points, but the NJIT men's basketball team was edged by Seton Hall, 67-56, on Wednesday night at Prudential Center.

Francis made five 3-pointers on the night, which matches his career-high, and has now scored at least 23 points in four straight games. Levi Lawal put in a solid effort off the bench with eight points, seven rebounds and a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor in 30 minutes.

How it Happened
NJIT found itself in an early hole, trailing by 14 just over four minutes into the game, 16-2. The Highlanders regrouped over the next couple minutes, and a Francis jumper with just over 10 minutes left before halftime trimmed the deficit to single digits, 23-15. Seton Hall would punch back, using a 10-3 run to extend its lead to 15 with five minutes left in the half.

The Highlanders would respond, closing the half on a 13-2 run. Francis scored the first five points of the burst, including his third three-pointer of the half to cut it down to 10. A couple layups from Sebastian Robinson with a Tim Moore Jr. layup sandwiched in between pulled NJIT to within six. Two free throws from Moore closed out the half with NJIT trailing by just four, 35-31.

The Highlanders got it back within one possession on multiple occasions in the second half, the first coming on a Lawal tip-in right out of the locker room. Later in the half, Francis nailed a deep three-pointer at the 10:29 mark to pull NJIT back within two, 47-45. However, the Pirates punched back each time the Highlanders made things close, as the hosts would rip off the next eight points to get the lead back up to double digits. Robinson would later help cut the Seton Hall lead down to five with 6:36 to play, but the Pirates would once again swing momentum back to their side to pull away late.

News & Notes

• Francis has surpassed the 20-point mark in five of his last six contests.
• Francis' five made three-pointers match his career-high, which was set on Feb. 8, 2024 in the win over Vermont.
• Ari Fulton has pulled down 15 rebounds combined over his last two games.
• Lawal knocked down multiple three-pointers for the second time this season.
• Wednesday's game marked head coach Grant Billmeier's return to Prudential Center, the arena where he served on Kevin Willard's staff at Seton Hall for 11 seasons from 2010-14 as Director of Basketball Operations and from 2015-22 as an assistant.

Up Next
NJIT returns home on Saturday afternoon for a matchup against Navy at 2 p.m. inside the Joel & Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center.