NEWARK, N.J. – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team used a stirring comeback to overcome NJIT on Monday night, 58-57.
 
The Quakers struggled for most of the first 30 minutes and trailed by as much as 17, 52-35, with a little more than 13 minutes left. However, at that point the Red and Blue went on a 17-0 run—the Highlanders going 9:30 of game time without a point—and used a game-ending 23-5 run for the rousing victory in the season opener for both teams.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn improved to 6-3 in season-opening games under head coach Steve Donahue.
 
*Penn won a one-point game for the first time since February 19, 2022 (89-88 at Brown) and improved to 6-4 in such games under Donahue.

*Penn made up a 17-point deficit,the largest comeback in a victory in the Donahue era; the Quakers made up a 21-point deficit at Princeton on January 7, 2017 but ultimately lost to the Tigers, 61-52.

*The last time Penn won a game while scoring less than 60 points was February 1, 2020 (a 54-46 victory over Dartmouth).

*Penn won this game after trailing at halftime; the Quakers went 0-13 in such games a year ago.
 
*In fact, Penn did not lead in this game until just 2:41 was left, an Ethan Roberts second-chance layup putting the Quakers in front 55-54.
 
*Penn won despite shooting a lower field-goal percentage than NJIT (2-17 in such games last year) and hitting fewer three-point baskets than the Highlanders (2-10 last year).
 
*Junior transfer Dylan Williams was Penn's leading scorer on Monday night, with 17 points.
 
*The junior transfer Roberts was the one who wore the hero's hat, though. He scored nine of Penn's last 10 points over the final 5:36 and hit the game-winning free throw with 1.6 seconds left. Roberts ended the night with 15 points.
 
*Senior Nick Spinoso scored seven points and led the Quakers in rebounds (7) and assists (3).

*Junior Johnnie Walter tied his career high at Penn with six rebounds in the game.
 
*NJIT got 20 points each from Sebastian Robinson and Tariq Francis, and Robinson also led all players with nine rebounds while Francis had three assists and knocked down four three-pointers.

How It Happened
The first half was not at all what the new-look Quakers were hoping for. A combination of foul trouble and sloppy ball handling allowed NJIT to take a 9-2 lead less than four minutes into the game, and the Highlanders really poured it on with an 11-2 run over a four-minute span that made it 20-6 with 10:01 left in the period and forced a Penn timeout. The lead peaked at 17 (30-13) on a Francis three-pointer, but the Quakers finally got some offensive flow and scored seven unanswered over a 90-second span to get within ten at 30-20. NJIT's lead was 12 (34-22) at the break.
 
Penn started the second half with the ball, and Roberts was fouled going up for a three-pointer. He hit all three free throws to make this game a single-digit margin for the first time since 15-6. A Williams trey got the Quakers as close as 36-28, but a Robinson triple at the other end set the Highlanders off on an 8-1 run that pushed them back in front, 44-29.
 
Williams made the score 46-35 out of the under-16 media timeout with a free throw, but NJIT responded with six unanswered points in less than a minute and that forced another Penn timeout.
 
Penn crawled back into it. Roberts and Walter hit threes on back-to-back possessions, and while the points came a bit slower after that the Quakers got within eight at 52-44, forcing NJIT's first timeout of the night with 8:18 to play. However, out of the stoppage Penn got a steal, Walter rebounded Roberts' missed transition trey, and Spinoso scored in the lane to make it 52-46.
 
Sophomore Sam Brown got into the lane for a layup to make it 52-48, and then NJIT committed a shot-clock violation and Roberts knocked down two freebies when he was fouled in the lane to make it a one-possession game. More than a minute went by, but Roberts made it level when he hustled to grab the rebound of a Williams shot that was blocked and drove the baseline for a layup with 4:11 left.
 
NJIT ended a 9:30 scoreless skid on its next possession, Robinson scoring on a driving layup. Williams got one of those points back when he hit one of two free throws, and after a defensive stop Roberts again got on the block and into the lane and converted to give Penn its first lead of the night with 2:41 to play. An NJIT turnover led to another Roberts bucket, and the Quakers were up 57-54 with the clock under two minutes.
 
NJIT found the points they needed to tie it up when Robinson drove the lane, hit an acrobatic lefty layup while being fouled, and hit the and-1 shot. Both teams went empty on their next possessions, and Penn got the ball with 48 seconds left. Brown missed a long 3-point attempt but Walter snared the board and fired it out to midcourt as he fell across the baseline. Brown was able to keep it from going into the backcourt, feeding Williams, who then passed it to Roberts for a 3-point look on the left wing. That also missed, but sophomore Augustus Gerhart crashed the offensive glass to give the Quakers the ball with the shot clock and game clock basically the same.
 
Penn called a timeout, and out of the stoppage they ran a play to get Roberts the ball on the left block. Roberts worked his defender into the key and was slapped across the arms as he went up for the potential winning shot. The first shot was off the mark, but the junior gathered himself and hit the second to make it 58-57.
 
NJIT called timeout and actually got a decent look from just inside the three-point line after a long pass. But the shot was off the mark and only then could Penn breathe a sigh of relief.
 
Up Next
Penn will play its home opener on Thursday night, hosting Maryland-Eastern Shore at The Palestra. The Quakers and UMES are slated to tip off at 7 p.m.
 
For the latest on Penn men's basketball, follow @PennMBB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.