Robinson's Big Second Half Helps Highlanders Past Morehead State, 78-69

Published: Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Sebastian Robinson scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half and Tariq Francis led the Highlanders with 23 points as the NJIT men's basketball team earned its first victory of the season over Morehead State, 78-69, on Wednesday night at the Cleveland State Thanksgiving Throwback.
Tim Moore Jr. also registered a double-digit scoring output for the Highlanders, finishing with 16 points on top of eight rebounds.

How it Happened
The two teams jostled for position early in the game, with the Highlanders going out ahead after three-pointers from Walt Andrews Jr. and Moore. An ensuing and-one layup from Ari Fulton at the 8:12 mark of the first half helped NJIT cap off a 10-0 run to lead by six, 18-12. NJIT would hold onto the lead for much of the later stages of the first half, but late buckets from Morehead State's Kenny White Jr., who would finish with a game-high 34 points, helped the Eagles soar back ahead at halftime, 34-33.

At the start of the second half, Robinson erupted. After having just two points in the first half, the sophomore scored the first 12 Highlander points of the second half, including converting on a four-point play at 17:58 to propel NJIT to a five-point edge. From that point, Robinson and Francis took turns converting on field goals, but White's persistent offense kept Morehead in the lead, 54-51.
 



At the 10:09 mark, momentum swung back in favor of NJIT after trailing for the previous five minutes. Moore nailed his third 3-pointer of the night to tie the score, 54-54, with Francis following with a triple of his own at 8:59 to give the Highlanders the lead. Back-to-back layups from Andrews and Moore stretched the NJIT lead to five and wrapped up a 13-2 Highlander run.
 



Morehead State reclaimed the lead at the 4:49 mark in the second half on a three-pointer from George Marshall. A minute later after the Eagles missed a pair of free throws, Robinson found himself open on the wing and knocked down his fourth 3-pointer of the night, giving NJIT the lead for good.
 



News & Notes

  • The victory is the first for the Highlanders in the 2024-25 season and snaps a 13-game losing streak dating back to the end of last season.
  • Francis and Robinson each scored 20+ points in a game for the second time this season. NJIT is the lone America East team to achieve that feat at least once this season.
  • Moore' 16 points and three made three-pointers are both season-highs.
  • Francis has scored 20+ points on four occasions this season, including both games in Cleveland this week and three times in his last four outings.
  • Francis is averaging 21.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists over his last four games.
  • Robinson picked up his second 20+ point performance of the season.