OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – A dominant first half performance carried the Roberts Wesleyan men's basketball team to a 92-67 win over East Coast Conference opponent NYIT on Friday evening. The victory marks the first conference win of the season for Roberts.
 
The first half was the difference in the game for the Redhawks, outscoring the Bears 41-16. Roberts shot 16-of-35 (45.7%) from the field in the opening half while the Bears shot a woeful 21-percent on a 6-of-28 shooting performance. Roberts never surrendered the lead after getting the first basket of the game.
 
Already holding an 11 point advantage the Redhawks continued to push the pace to extend the lead. A Michael Bush three pointer with 3:38 left in the first half sparked a 13-1 run to close out the half with a 25 point lead.
 
In the second NYIT was able to put points up on the board scoring 51 points but the Redhawks matched that effort with 51 points of their own to keep the Bears at a distance.
 
Scoring for the Redhawks came from everywhere as 10 different players recorded at least one point. Junior Isaiah Lewis led all scorers with 18 points. Peyton McLaurin had his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Jean Toussaint and Fope Okuyiga each had 11 points to round out the players with double digit scoring numbers.
 
Turnovers were the only real downfall of the Redhawks on Friday night, giving the ball up 23 times which led to 29 points for NYIT including 21 in the second half alone. But aggressive rebounding helped limit any second chance opportunities for the Bears. Roberts outrebounded NYIT 52-35.
 
Roberts Wesleyan (4-4, 1-1 ECC) will look to make it two conference wins in a row on Sunday when they take on the winless LIU Post Pioneers at 3:30 p.m.