Chris Flores led the Highlanders to a come-from-behind victory over Houston Baptist last Saturday to claim the GWC title.
Flores, the GWC Preseason Player of the Year, scored a game-high 21 points as the Highlanders overcame a 17-point, first-half deficit in the 69-58 win over the Huskies -- snapping HBU's eight-game winning streak in the process. The win avenged an earlier loss to the Huskies at Houston which set the Highlanders on their current season-high, five-game winning streak. The senior from Dorchester, Mass., also pulled down six rebounds, dished out two assists and recorded three steals as NJIT claimed its first-ever GWC men's basketball championship.
Flores leads the GWC in scoring with 17.4 points per game -- an average that ranks 67th in the nation among 1,819 qualifiers -- and in steals with 2.3 per contest -- which places him 20th in the nation. The three-time GWC Second-Team selection also ranks second in the GWC with 2.5 three-pointers made per game – which ranks 69th in the nation.
It's been quite a season for the senior co-captain.
On Jan. 4, Flores became NJIT's all-time leading scorer in the Division-I era, passing
Isaiah Wilkerson (1,577). He now sits fifth all-time overall with 1,703 points and needs just 39 points to pass Wilkerson (517; 2011-12) for NJIT's D-I single-season points record. He's also on pace to finish with the highest scoring average in NJIT's D-I era (
Isaiah Wilkerson, 16.2; 2011-12).
In addition to his scoring accolades, Flores became NJIT's all-time D-I assist leader (329) this season, passing Jheryl Wilson '11 (250). He also set NJIT's D-I single-se
ason record for steals (62) passing Wilkerson (56; 2011-12) and is the only GWC player to record six steals in a game this season -- a feat he's accomplished three times (Nov. 13, Jan. 17, Feb. 2).
Flores was also named Great West Conference Player of the Week for the fourth time the senior co-captain earned GWC Player of the Week honors this season (Nov. 14, Nov. 28, Feb. 4). Additionally, he was named conference Player of the Week by College Sports Madness.
