Nov. 24, 2007

Box Score

NEWARK, NJ - Junior guard Garrison Carr scored 15 points--all on three-point baskets--leading four double-figure scorers for visiting American in a 73-50 men's basketball win over New Jersey Institute of Technology Saturday afternoon in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.

Senior forward Travis Lay and junior guards Derrick Mercer and Frank Borden all chipped in 10 points apiece for the victorious Eagles. Borden's four rebounds were high for American, which had 11 players get at least one rebound.

NJIT got a career-best 15 points from sophomore center Dan Stonkus, while senior captain Kraig Peters added 13 for the Highlanders.

The previous career scoring high for Stonkus was 14, which he reached against North Dakota State last February 10.

Nesho Milosevic had a game-high six rebounds for NJIT, which had a 30-26 team advantage on the boards for the game.

The Eagles built a 34-18 halftime lead, helped by a plus-13 turnover differential, as American's defense forced 15 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

American opened the game at 10-3 on Borden's pull-up jump shot with 13:36 left and the visitors stretched their lead to 10 points, 18-8, on Mercer's traditional three-point play with 10:19 left in the half.

NJIT closed to within six points of the lead, 20-14, but had a turnover and missed shot on its next two possessions, before the visitors closed the last 5:14 of the opening half with 14-2 spurt.

American, which shot 5-for-10 on first-half three-pointers had a combined 17 points--nine by Carr--from its starting backcourt of Carr and Mercer.

American carried its strong first-half finish into the first 13 minutes of the second half, removing all doubt about the outcome and stretching its lead, before the Highlanders finished the last 6:48 of the game with an 18-4 run.

Stonkus, who had seven points at halftime, scored eight in the second half, as did Peters, who tallied five first-half points.

The overall field goal percentage and free throw percentage were remarkably similar, as American connected at a 47.3 percent rate (26-55) from the field and shot 13-for-18 at the foul line.

NJIT made 47.4 percent of its shots overall (18-38), but managed 17 fewer attempts than the visitors, due largely to the turnover numbers of 25 for NJIT and 12 for American. NJIT also shot 18 free throws, making 11.

Aside from the turnover disparity, American's biggest advantage was on three-pointers, where the Eagles, led by Carr, shot 8-for-19, compared to 3-for-11 for the Highlanders.

The final scoring total for the second half was 39-32 for American, which was reflected in two important areas of improvement for NJIT from the first half to the second. The first-half turnover totals of 15 for NJIT to three for the visitors were a more manageable 10 for NJIT to eight from American. And the Highlanders shot 10-for-14 at the foul line in the second half after going 1-for-4 in the opening 20 minutes.

NJIT will play its next four games on the road, starting on Monday, when the Highlanders travel to Bethlehem for a 7 pm game at Lehigh.

The game against American began a stretch that will see the Highlanders play four games from Saturday to Saturday and nine games from November 24 to December 13.