Orono, Maine – Five Highlanders scored in double figures, led by
Sebastian Robinson's 16 points, but the NJIT men's basketball team came up short in a 78-74 defeat at Maine on Thursday night.
Robinson scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, while
Tim Moore Jr. scored his 12 points after halftime after enduring first half foul trouble.
Tariq Francis and
Ari Fulton each finished with 12 points as well, while
John Kelly added 10 points off the bench.
How it Happened
Maine came out of the gates hot, opening the game on a 10-2 run to take an early lead. The Highlanders chipped away with perimeter shooting, as Kelly and Francis nailed threes to draw the Highlanders closer. After the two sides jostled for momentum midway through the half, Fulton delivered NJIT's first lead of the game with a wing three at the 10:23 mark, 19-17.
Maine pieced together productive possessions over the ensuing few minutes to tie the game, but the NJIT three-point shooting kept delivering it leads.
Cameron Piggee knocked down a three with 9:25 remaining until halftime to give NJIT a 25-22 lead, followed by another tiebreaking three from Francis a few minutes later. However, Maine would use a scoring burst late in the half to take a 41-35 lead into the locker room.
Like the first half, the Black Bears opened the second half with a scoring flurry, opening up an 11 point lead just under three minutes in. Robinson began to flex his scoring prowess, nailing a three and connecting on a driving layup to cut the deficit to five. Piggee followed with a layup of his own, and suddenly the Highlanders had pulled within three, 50-47, with 14:32 to play. Three was as close as NJIT would get in a tightly played second half, as the Highlanders remained in striking distance for all of the final 20 minutes but could not break through.
News & Notes
- The Highlanders had five players finish in double figures in scoring for the second time this season.
- Kelly matched his career high with his 10 points.
- Jordan Rogers played a season-high 36 minutes, finishing with five points, five assists and six rebounds.
- Robinson added eight rebounds and four assists to his 16 points.
Up Next
NJIT will head to New Hampshire to face the Wildcats on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
