Dec. 7, 2014 marked the first ever win in MU Men’s Basketball history against the preseason favorites, the Gales of Iona. Credit for the big win goes to the play of sophomore guard Justin Robinson. With a career-high of 25 points, Robinson helped his team come away with the 92-89 win to secure their fourth victory of the season.
The back and fourth contest saw a number of lead changes. The Hawks kept their hot shooting season alive by firing 33-63. This completes the third contest this year of over 50 percent for the Hawks. Four players had double-digits in their scoring, one being Justin Robinson with 25. The others were junior guard Deon Jones at 18, senior guard and captain Max DiLeo with 12, and senior guard and captain Andrew Nicholas with 11.
The game began with Robinson sinking a basket to put his team up 2-0. A few seconds later, senior forward Brice Kofane swayed the confidence towards the Hawks bench early with two blocks.
The teams were evenly matched throughout the first half as they were tied four different times. The Hawks were able to pull away with three minutes until halftime when Robinson made a three pointer; the assist was awarded to sophomore guard Collin Stewart. With a second remaining in the first half, DiLeo secured the Hawks two points bringing the score to 48-40 in MU’s favor.
The Hawks lost the lead three times in the second half, however, they were never trailing by more than three points. MU secured the victory as Jones made both free throws with a minute and a half left in the game. A missed three pointer by Schadrac Casimir allowed the Hawks to gain control of the ball which resulted in two points from Robinson. The Hawks’ final six points came from Robinson.
“The team may be young, but I know if I’m out there, I have to do whatever it takes to make sure we secure the win.” Robinson said. JRob, as his teammates refer to him, is following in DiLeo’s steps as the vocal leader of the Hawks.
“I feel like I have a lot of pressure on me this year, but with that pressure I continue to better myself to relieve that pressure,” Robinson said.
For his recent efforts against Iona and Marist, Robinson was named Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Week.
The Hawks defeated Marist on Thursday, Dec. 4 with a final score of 57-50. The Marist win, which accounted for the first MAAC victory of the season, was also MU’s first conference opening win since the 2005-06 season.
At Marist, Robinson scored 12 points, had three assists, and two steals. While hosting the Gaels, Robinson , set a new career-high of 25 points, shot 8-of-11, 3-of-5 from three-point range, had four assists and contributed two steals.
MU had more points in the paint (42-26) and more points off turnovers (20-10) than Iona. The Hawks also shot 7-for-16 from deep, but that was trumped by the incredible three point performance by the lethal shooter of the Gales. As a team, the Gales made 15 of 28 long-range buckets. The sharpshooting came off the hands of Schadrac Casimir, who drained eight of 15 from behind the arc and made it look easy. A.J. English helped the cause by tallying three deep balls, and also added 31 points with an impressive 10-10 from the free-throw line.
The blue and white used speed to their advantage as they scored 21 fast break points. MU noticed the lackluster defense and took control from hoop to hoop. Contributions were not hard to find for the Hawks as they 27 bench points. An all-around effort is what the team has used all year to be able to have weapons up and down the roster.
The “Bigs” for MU played hard in the effort; Kofane engulfed nine rebounds, sophomore center Chris Brady added five board off the bench, while Jones contributed five as well. Everything seemed to click for the Hawks, from the shooting to the defense, MU fired on all cylinders and came away with the huge win against their MAAC foe.
With the win, the Hawks improve their record to 4-4 overall and remain undefeated in the MAAC, 2-0.
The Hawks return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 10 to take on the non-conference Fordham Rams in the Bronx. Fordham currently posts a 2-4 record and are 2-2 with home court advantage. Tipoff is set for 7 pm.
