Jan. 19, 2008

Box Score

CHICAGO - Nesho Milosevic led all scorers and all rebounders with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double and senior Kraig Peters added 15 points and a career-best six assists, but their efforts weren't enough for visiting NJIT to prevail in Saturday's 79-62 men's basketball loss at Chicago State.

The Cougars, who played NJIT for the first time ever, dominated the paint on the offensive end, outscoring the Highlanders, 42-20, from in close. Chicago State also had an overwhelming advantage in bench scoring, as the reserve Cougars outscored the backup Highlanders, 38-7.

Chicago State's four double-figure scorers were paced by junior John Cantrell's 17 points. An athletic guard, Cantrell did most of his damage inside, driving the ball to the basket for layups or dunks and also keeping the ball alive on the offensive boards, leading Chicago State to a 22-11 edge in second-chance points.

Freshman forward Carl Montgomery was efficient on the inside, as well, making six of his eight shots from the floor and finishing with 14 points. Forward Tawrence Walton came off the bench for 13 points and a team-leading nine rebounds and junior guard Mike Wilson chipped in 10 points.

NJIT, with freshman guard Jheryl Wilson getting most of the man-to-man defensive assignment, held Chicago State's explosive junior David Holston to seven points.

Holston, a diminutive guard, came in averaging 23 points per game and an NCAA Division I-leading 4.7 three-point field goals made per came. But he connected on just three of 16 field goal attempts. Included in that number was a 1-for-12 line on three-pointers. Mike Wilson (1-3) made the only other three-point bucket for the Cougars, who were 2-for-22 as a team on threes.

Despite his shooting woes, Holston registered a game-high eight assists, using his quickness to create open looks for his teammates. Mike Wilson added seven assists without a turnover in 22 minutes of play.

NJIT, which shot 4-for-7 on three-pointers in the first half, hit all four of its made treys in the first 11:25, as Tyler Epps (two), Peters and Jheryl Wilson all connected from long distance.

Epps, who finished one shy of his career scoring high with eight points in Chicago, hit a jump shot to pull the Highlanders to within a point of the lead, 18-17, midway through the first half.

Within a minute, Chicago State picked up five points in three possessions, as Cantrell drove for a layup and later hit a free throw, before Walton's layup gave the Cougars a 23-17 lead with 9:09 left in the half.

Jheryl Wilson made a three-pointer at 8:35 to pull the Highlanders back within three, 23-20, but the Highlanders did not get their 21st point for more than five minutes, before Justin Garris made the first of two free throws at the 3:31 mark.

By then, Chicago State had built a 31-20 lead, with the Cougars' next eight points coming on two dunks and a layup by Cantrell and a layup by Walton.

Except for a 25-second stretch from 3:26 to 3:01, Chicago State led by double-figures for the rest of the half, reaching halftime with a 38-27 lead. Cantrell with 13 points and Montgomery with 12 paced the Cougars, while Peters had 10 points for NJIT.

Milosevic, who had struggled in the first half, shooting 1-for-7, opened the second half on fire, scoring nine of NJIT's first 14 second-half points.

The Highlanders' best run of the game turned a 16-point deficit at 17:11 into an eight-point hole--45-37, when Milosevic made a three-pointer with 15:43 left. NJIT's 8-0 spurt included a three by Jheryl Wilson, a layup by Milosevic and then the trey by Milosevic.

Down by just eight points with 15:28 left, the Highlanders were done in by the rebounding of the smallest man on the floor. On the ensuing sequence, Holston, who is listed at 5-foot-8, but appears closer to 5-6, missed a three-pointer, but he got the offensive rebound and dished to Walton, whose traditional three-point play at 15:28 pushed the Cougars' lead back to 11.

Peters came back with a jump shot that closed the score to 48-39 with 14:53 left, but Chicago State ran off seven unanswered points over the next 3:11, taking a 55-39 lead on Walton's free throw at 11:42.

NJIT responded with a 6-1 run of its own, but the Highlanders could not get closer than 11 points of the lead the rest of the way.

The Highlanders will play their next four contests at home, starting with a rematch against Texas-Pan American on Saturday, January 26 at 1 pm in the Prudential Center.

The game which will be preceded by a men's alumni game at 11 am and followed by a women's varsity game between NJIT and Chicago State at 3 pm, will mark the final appearance this season for the Highlanders in the state-of-the-art Prudential Center in downtown Newark.

The game against Texas-Pan American will be the second of three meetings this season between the Highlanders and the Broncs. The teams met on December 31 in the consolation game of the UCF Holiday Classic in Orlando, FL, and UTPA was a 76-61 winner.

They are slated to meet a third time in Texas on February 9.