Nov. 26, 2007

Box Score

BETHLEHEM, PA - Visiting NJIT stayed close most of the night and closed two separate double-digit deficits to within five points during the game's final 10 minutes, but Lehigh held on for a 67-58 men's basketball win Monday.

The Highlanders, who played their strongest game of the season, received a game-high 20 points in just 19 minutes played from junior forward Nesho Milosevic, who shot 9-for-10 from the field, but fouled out of the game with 3:36 left.

Senior captain Kraig Peters added 16 points for the Highlanders, making four three-point field goals and five buckets overall.

Freshman Paulius Skema was the top rebounder for NJIT, pulling down six to go with a team-best two blocked shots.

Lehigh's leader was sophomore point guard Marquis Hall, who was the only Mountain Hawk to score in double figures (12 points), while also handing out a game-high eight assists, with only two turnovers.

NJIT was outscored from the field by two points, but the Highlanders continued to have trouble with turnovers and free throw shooting.

NJIT had its second game this season with fewer than 20 turnovers (19) on Monday, but was outscored, 23-12, in the crucial points-off-turnovers category.

The Highlanders have also been troubled by inconsistent foul shooting this season and the Lehigh game was no exception. After making five of six first-half free throws, the Highlanders shot 5-for-14 in the second half and two of the nine misses were front ends of one-and-ones.

Lehigh's 17-10 edge in free throws made, plus the points off turnovers differential of 11 points clearly made the difference in the outcome.

Despite that, the Highlanders showed determination throughout. They took a 17-13 lead with 13:21 left in the first half, before suffering a scoreless drought of 5:43, by which time Lehigh had swung into a 20-17 lead.

The 7-0 run grew into an 12-2 Lehigh run, capped by Rob Keefer's three-point basket that made it 25-19 for Lehigh with 6:22 left in the half, before the Highlanders answered with a 7-0 run of their own, retaking the lead, 26-25, when Peters made a three at the 4:27 mark.

Although the Highlanders trailed at the half, 35-32, it was by far their best opening 20 minutes in any of this season's six games. Milosevic had nine first-half points to lead all scorers and freshman Brendon Lyn came off the bench as a spark at point guard, stabilizing the team's floor game and netting seven points of his own.

Three different Lehigh starters had a team-leading seven first-half points for the Mountain Hawks. They were: Hall, Keefer and forward Bryan White.

The teams traded scores early in the second half, as Milosevic scored NJIT's first four points, the latest at the 15:30 mark. He was on the bench 25 seconds later, having picked up his fourth personal foul and the score at 40-36 for Lehigh.

Both teams made a couple of mini-spurts, with a hot Peters pulling the Highlanders to within four points, 46-42, with 11:50 remaining.

When Lehigh ran off seven unanswered points to take a 53-42 lead with 9:29 left, interim coach Wendell Alexis had to roll the dice and put Milosevic back in, despite the four fouls.

Shortly after returning, Milosevic made his first three-point basket of the season, following a previous trey for Peters and the Highlanders cut the deficit from 11 to five in less than two minutes.

Lehigh responded with a 9-0 run, taking its biggest lead--14 points at 62-48 on Matt Szalachowski's jump shot with 5:26 left.

NJIT made one final push, outscoring the home team, 10-1, over the next 4:01, but could not get closer than 63-58 on Skema's driving baseline layup with 1:25 left.

NJIT is slated to return to action with a short turnaround, visiting Rider in Lawrenceville, NJ, on Wednesday night. The start time of the game is 7 pm, up half an hour from the time listed on NJIT's printed schedule.

Rider, led by preseason Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year Jason Thompson is off to a 3-3 start that includes wins over Delaware, Fairleigh Dickinson and Penn State, along with competitive losses against Murray State, North Carolina State and Kansas State.

Thompson, who was a high school classmate of NJIT's captain, Kraig Peters, is averaging 20.8 points per game and has been Rider's top scorer in its last five games.

Rider will try to avenge last season's 63-52 loss to NJIT that came on November 14 in the first-ever Division I home game for the Highlanders.