Newark,NJ – UMBC guard
Bryce Johnson continued his torrid shooting, matching his career-high with 28 points in the Retrievers 87-64 victory over the NJIT Highlanders on Thursday evening at Joel and Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center. UMBC evens their America East record at 1-1 and improves to 9-8 on the campaign.
"I feel extremely confident on the offensive end, and I'm trying to be very aggressive," Johnson stated. "With my quickness, when I attack the basket, they either have to foul me or I'm going to get the bucket. This is the best stretch I've been on in my career, and I want to keep being consistent."
Johnson (team-high five assists) scored 20 points in the second half to help the visitors reverse a 37-30 halftime deficit. UMBC, who entered the game 0-7 when trailing at intermission this season, shot a blistering 64.3 percent in the final stanza as they connected on 18-of-28 field goal attempts. UMBC also went 17-for-20 from the foul line and finished 19-for-22 (86.4 percent) for the contest.
In addition to Johnson, three other Retrievers were in double figures in scoring on the evening. Junior forward
Regimantas Ciunys recorded 13 points and grabbed a team-high eight boards in 17 minutes off the bench. Graduate student forward
Josh Odunowo (12 points) and senior guard
Marcus Banks Jr. (10 points) were also key contributors on the offensive end.
UMBC trailed by as many as 11 points with 11:37 left in the opening half after Sebastion Robinson's layup made it 20-9.
Robinson paced NJIT (3-13, 0-1 AE) with 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting.
The Retrievers will return to The Peake on Thursday evening against UNH at 6:00 p.m.
Notes
- The 57 points in the second stanza was their largest output in a half against a Division I team this season.
- Johnson has scored 20+ points in four of his last five contests and is shooting 40-of-68 (59 percent) overall. He's averaging 22.8 ppg. during the stretch.
- Johnson is now 61 points shy of 1,000 career points. He's moved up to third on the circuit with 16.9 ppg.
- Banks Jr. needs 33 points to reach the 1,000-point mark.
