Box Score
HOUSTON—Houston Baptist star Gordon Watt scored 17 of his team-leading 20 points in the second half, as the Huskies pulled away from visiting NJIT in the second half to notch a 70-51 men's basketball win Saturday night.
Watt, who started 33 games in two seasons at Purdue before winding up at Houston Baptist for his last two seasons, did his most serious damage in a 1:28 spurt just past the midpoint of the seven to 13 between the 9:47 and 8:19 marks.
Six of Watt's points came on traditional three-point plays and center Emmanuel Willis, another senior, who previously played at both Southern California and Auburn, had three traditional three-point plays, giving the Huskies five of the traditional three-point plays as a team. Willis wound up with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Mario Flaherty, who subbed in at center when Willis was in foul trouble, came off the bench for 11 points—nine in the second half. Senior guard Andrew Puzyk did most of the perimeter damage for the home team, scoring 17 points, including nine on three-point shots.
NJIT, which played hard throughout the game, lost despite another stellar showing by sophomore guard Jheryl Wilson, who finished with a game-high 23 points.
Wilson, who was the only double-figure scorer for the Highlanders, shot 10-for-11 at the foul line, tying the NJIT Division I record for made free throws in a game, first set by Marc Milbourne Swan at Cornell on January 7, 2007.
Wilson and Justin Garris shared the team rebounding lead with eight apiece, as the Highlanders beat the home team off the boards, 41-34.
The first half was the type game the frequently low-scoring Highlanders often need in order to stay close. With neither team able to score consistently, the halftime score stood at 26-22 in favor of Houston Baptist.
The Huskies claimed a 12-4 lead after the first of Willis' old-school three-point plays with 14:12 left in the first half.
With the Highlanders playing strong team defense, Houston Baptist went scoreless for the next 7:41 before Puzyk finally broke the spell with a pair of free throws at the 6:31 mark.
However, NJIT was unable to take as much advantage of the drought as it might have hoped. While Houston Baptist went scoreless for nearly eight minutes, the Highlanders scored only 11 points of their own and led just 15-12 before the Puzyk foul shots.
There were two more ties in the half and the Houston Baptist lead stood at one as the first-half clock wound down. With the Highlander defense refusing to allow an open look, Watt launched a deep three-point try that banked off the backboard and through the net, just beating the halftime buzzer.
Watt, whose three-point banker at the buzzer was his only bucket of the first half, scored two baskets in the first minute of the second half to extend his team's lead to eight, but NJIT was not done.
Isaiah Wilkerson drove along the baseline for a layup, Wilson made two free throws and then a driving layup that pulled the Highlanders to within two, 30-28, with 16:50 left.
However, Willis answered with a three-point play at 15:41, Flaherty scored at 14:31 and Baron Sauls sunk a pair of free throws 14 seconds later to put the Huskies up, 37-28.
The lead fluctuated between seven and 10 for about five minutes before Watt's eight-points-in-1:28 spurt put the game beyond NJIT's reach.
NJIT will remain in Texas, heading south to Edinburg near the border with Mexico for a 7 pm (CST) game at Texas-Pan American on Monday night.
