Box score
NEWARK, NJ—Isaiah Wilkerson scored 17 points and pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds, pacing NJIT in a 56-51 men's basketball win over visiting Wagner Tuesday night in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
Wilkerson, a guard by trade, is playing close to the basket this season to meet a team personnel need, and he has excelled at the dirty job of fighting mostly bigger men for rebounds, generating three double-doubles in four starts for the 2-2 Highlanders.
Although he was a good rebounder for a guard, Wilkerson never had more than seven rebounds in any of his 22 games as a freshman last year. This year, playing as a power forward in NJIT's halfcourt sets, the sophomore captain got 10 rebounds in each of the first two games before getting three against Lafayette, leading into his 13 against Wagner. This year he is averaging 9 rebounds a game to go with a solid 14.3 points per game.
Against Wagner, nine of his team-high 17 points came at the foul line on 14 free throws, many of which were the result of his tenacious work under the boards.
After Wilkerson, the Highlanders got 12 points from freshman guard Chris Flores, who added 4 assists and 4 steals for the Highlanders.
NJIT (2-2) overcame a generally subpar shooting night (32 percent from the field on 18-for-56; including 5-for-24 on three-point tries) with an intense effort that including its most effective defensive play of the season and continued strong rebounding, despite starting a lineup with no player taller than 6-foot-6.
On the defensive end, NJIT limited Wagner to 31 percent shooting from the field (19-62) with an important 3-for-22 on three-pointers. The Seahawks had made 22 threes in their first two games, including 14 in a season-opening loss at Lafayette.
On the boards, freshman big man Sean McCarthy came off the bench for nine rebounds against Wagner and the Highlanders essentially broke even on the boards, as the Seahawks finished with 46 rebounds to 43 for NJIT.
The Highlanders also showed an impressive willingness to share the ball and the ability to find an open man, picking up assists on 16 of their 18 baskets.
Wagner fell to 0-3 despite getting game-high totals of 22 points and 14 rebounds from center Michael Orock. Both numbers were career highs for the senior, who made 10 of 16 shots from the field.
Sophomore guard Chris Martin chipped in 13 points for the Seahawks, while senior guard Doug Elwell finished with 5 assists, 3 blocked shots and 4 steals.
The game was close throughout, with eight ties and nine lead changes and it wasn't until NJIT took a 54-47 lead after a Jheryl Wilson three-pointer with merely 1:36 remaining that either team led by more than five points.
Wagner led by as many as five points in the first half, the latest at 15-10 with nine minutes left on an Orock jumper. But the Highlanders outscored the visitors 8-0 over the last 3:30 of the period for a 24-20 halftime lead. Orock's 10 points led the Seahawks at the break, while Flores had seven points for NJIT.
The second half was extra close, with neither team leading by more than two points from the 16:35 mark until a steal and driving dunk by Wilkerson gave the Highlanders a 49-45 lead with 4:51 remaining. That play was part of a 9-2 run over nearly six minutes that turned a one-point deficit at 7:28 into the 54-47 lead for NJIT after Wilson's three-pointer at 1:36.
The win over Wagner evens the all-time men's basketball series between the schools at a game apiece and they will meet again this season on Staten Island on December 28.
Next up for the Highlanders, who completed a homestand with two wins in three tries capped by the Wagner victory, is a trip to Long Island, where they will face unbeaten Stony Brook in a 2 pm game on Saturday.
