Sebastian Robinson scored a game-high 23 points, and NJIT outscored Maine 36-23 in the second half on Saturday afternoon to pick up a 67-58 men’s America East basketball win on Skip Chappelle Court at Memorial Gymnasium in Orono.
The Black Bears would trail by eight on three different occasions in the first half, but would fight back to jump on top for the first time 26-25 on a three-pointer by Ryan Mabrey. After the Highlanders took back a two point advantage, a pair of three-pointers by Logan Carey in the final minute gave Maine a 35-31 edge at the half. Carey had 17 minutes in the opening 20 minutes. A fastbreak layup by Ace Flagg (Nokomis) in the opening two minutes of the second half gave the hosts what was their biggest lead of the contest of six. NJIT would respond and when David Bolden hit a three-pointer with 15:22 left they wouldn’t trail again. The visiting Highlanders would later increase their lead to as many as 14 to win their sixth straight game and pick up their 10th victory in league play.
Robinson added four rebounds and three assists and shot 9-15 from the floor for NJIT. Bolden finished with 15 points (three 3-pointers), and Ari Fulton contributed 14 points and seven rebounds. The Highlanders are now 15-12 and 10-2 in America East. Carey ended up with 20 points for Maine in the loss. He shot 7-11 (three 3-pointers) and had seven rebounds and three assists. Flagg would chip in 11 points, six rebounds, and five steals. The Black Bears fall to 6-21 and 4-8 in conference play and will try to snap a three game losing streak when they visit UNH next Saturday at 4 p.m.
Photos of game action courtesy of Corianna Doucette
