Dec. 10, 2007

Box Score

STONY BROOK, NY - NJIT made a spirited comeback in the second half, but the Highlanders fell short in the end, 62-53, against Stony Brook in men's basketball Monday night on Long Island.

Down by 17, 51-34, with 11:12 left in the game, NJIT rallied to within four points of the lead, 55-51, with 4:06 left. But the comeback fell short when Stony Brook outscored the Highlanders, 7-2, over the last 3:27.

The comeback was fueled by NJIT's best defensive stretch of the season, as the Highlanders held the Seawolves to just one made field goal over the last 11:12.

Stony Brook's senior guard Mitchell Beauford led all scorers with 16 points, while classmate Ricky Lucas added 12 points and a team-leading eight rebounds and four assists.

NJIT had three double-figure scorers in a game for the first time this season. Nesho Milosevic led the way with 15 points and had his second double-double of the season with a game-high 13 rebounds. Milosevic scored 11 of his points in the second half and his 13 rebounds helped the Highlanders dominate the boards as a team, 40-25.

Senior wing Kraig Peters added 12 points for the Highlanders, with 10 of his points helping to keep NJIT in contention in the first half. Freshman Justin Garris also scored 12 overall, with 10 of his coming in the second half.

NJIT continued its difficulty protecting the ball, committing 23 turnovers to 11 for Stony Brook and losing the points-off-turnovers race, 27-16--two more points than the final margin overall.

In that context, freshman guard Tyler Epps was a breath of fresh air for the Highlanders, coming off the bench to play a career-high 30 minutes, without committing a turnover.

Stony Brook never trailed, but NJIT stayed close throughout the first half, forging three ties and never trailing by more than seven points.

The Highlanders closed to within four points four times in the last 4:47 and they were down 28-24 after Milosevic sunk two free throws with 1:17 left in the half. With Stony Brook running down the shot clock, Epps stole the ball with 1:03 left, but NJIT's subsequent three-point shot missed 30 seconds later..

Again Stony Brook held the ball as NJIT dug in on defense. The Highlanders made the stop on Beauford's driving shot, but Lucas snuck into the lane and tipped home the miss as the first-half buzzer sounded, pushing the Seawolves into a 30-24 lead.

NJIT's Peters led all scorers at the break with 10 points, while Beauford's seven points keyed Stony Brook.

Stony Brook started the second half well and an 8-0 spurt, capped by Beauford's layup with 11:12 left staked the Seawolves to a 51-34 lead.

But NJIT combined the defense that allowed just one field goal and 11 points total the rest of the way with a 17-4 spurt of its own over the next 7:06.

Milosevic scored the first five points in the comeback, while Garris followed with seven points that showed his array of skills. In a span of 1:42, he made a steal, which led to his breakaway dunk, hit a three-point shot and then made another steal that set up a two-shot free throw situation, which he converted.

Garris' two free throws cut NJIT's deficit to nine. Epps hit a three-pointer to close NJIT to within six and then Milosevic's two foul shots made it 55-51 with 4:06 left.

Beauford's shot missed on the next possession on the other end and the NJIT rally appeared to gain steam when Jheryl Wilson drove into the paint and lofted a 10-foot floater through the net, only to have it whistled off on a charging call.

Stony Brook then sealed the win with five made free throws and another Beauford layup in the closing 3:27.

The Seawolves, who did not attempt a free throw in the first half, scored 16 times on 26 foul shots in the second half, including nine free throws in the last 11:12 when the Highlanders were holding Stony Brook to the lone field goal.

Next up for the Highlanders is one of the marquee games on their schedule on Thursday night when they host Rutgers in a 7 pm contest in the downtown Newark Prudential Center