BETHLEHEM, PA—Lehigh dominated the first eight minutes of the second half and then had enough left to hold off a sustained push by visiting NJIT, defeating the Highlanders, 86-79, in men's basketball action Saturday night.

The Mountain Hawks, who trailed 37-36 at halftime, spotted NJIT three more points to open the second half on a three-pointer by junior Jheryl Wilson, who had a record-setting night, and then outscored the Highlanders, 19-1, for a 55-41 lead with 12:01 to play.

NJIT fought back the rest of the game and trimmed the deficit to a mere three points, 72-69, when Isaiah Wilkerson made the second of two free throws for the Highlanders with 2:32 remaining. But Lehigh, which has won four in a row and five of the last six, had enough answers, particularly at the foul line, where it shot 11-for-12 in the last 1:43,  to keep the Highlanders from getting any closer.

NJIT, which had won its previous two games, lost at Lehigh despite achieving some statistical milestones and battling back from a big second-half deficit on the road against a hot, talented team.

Wilson finished with 27 points, which was a new personal high and matched the most ever scored by a Highlander in a Division I game (Wilson had scored 26 twice before and his 27 points tied Clayton Barker and Nesho Milosevic for NJIT's DI scoring honors. Barker scored 27 in February 2007 and Milosevic matched that total a year later).

Wilson, who scored 18 in the first half Saturday night, shot 10-for-18 from the field, making three three-pointers, plus four free throws. Wilson's 10 field goals tied the school Division I record set by Milosevic in a different February 2008 game. Wilson also played all 40 minutes without a turnover.

Wilkerson scored 22 points, two points shy of his personal high, with 14 of the points coming at the foul line, as he broke the school Division I record for free throws made (14) and attempted in a game (16).

Wilkerson, Wilson and freshman Chris Flores shared the team rebounding lead with five apiece and Flores scored 14 points, all in the last 11 minutes. Sammy Schickel came off the bench to score 11 points for the Highlanders.

As a team, the Highlanders set a new single-game high for most points against a Division I team, edging past the 78 they scored against Longwood two times (Feb. 2007 and Feb. 2008) and they tied their Division I record, making nine three-point baskets (9-23; 39 percent).

The Mountain Hawks, now 8-6, had three double-figure scorers, two of whom were freshmen. The top scorer was rookie forward Gabe Knutson, who scored a season-high 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the floor and 5-for-6 at the foul line.

Knutson was supported by classmate CJ McCollum, who came in as Lehigh's top scorer on the season averaging 12.8 points per game. He picked up 18 points against NJIT, including a crucial three-pointer from the left corner that came 14 seconds after Wilkerson had pulled the Highlanders to within three points of the lead. Thirteen of McCollum's points came in the decisive second half.

McCollum, a slender 6-3, 165-pound guard, led the Lehigh rebounders with seven, matching his season high, as the Mountain Hawks had a 44-29 advantage on the glass as a team.

Senior power forward Zahir Carrington was the third double-figure scorer for the winners, notching 10 points. Senior Marquis Hall, Lehigh's all-Patriot League point guard, came in averaging 10.8 points, but made just one of eight shots from the floor and finished with six points. However, he handed out six assists and became the school's all-time career assists leader with his fifth dish of the game.

Paced by Wilson's 18 points, NJIT led after a tightly-contested first half, 37-36. The Highlanders played a nearly-flawless floor game, committing just one team turnover in the opening 20 minutes.

Lehigh, which made just five turnovers itself, made half of its shots from the field in the half, led by Knutson, who had eight points on 4-for-5 shooting.

After two empty possessions by each team to start the second half, Wilson made a three-pointer to put NJIT on top, 40-36, with 18:31 on the clock.

But senior Dave Buchberger came up with a traditional three-point play for Lehigh the next trip down the floor and Knutson scored in the paint to put the Mountain Hawks on top to stay, 41-40, at 16:46.

Those five points were the beginning of a 14-0 run that became 19-1, as Lehigh built a 14-point lead that still stood at 64-50 with 9:05 remaining.

One of the things that bode well for the Highlanders, however, was that even though they hadn't dented the lead, they had scored 10 points in 3:22 after managing just four points in the previous 7:59.

Meanwhile, both teams had already reached 10 team fouls before the nine-minute mark, meaning there would be plenty of chances to score with the clock stopped.

Flores, the NJIT freshman who had managed just one point through the first 31 minutes, got things started with a pair of free throws at 8:53, jumpstarting a 10-3 Highlander spurt the left the score at 67-61 following Wilson's layup with 7:06 left.

Lehigh, which came in averaging over 70 points per game and which had topped 85 points twice previously this season, has multiple scoring threats and was able to stretch its lead back to 10, 71-61, when Carrington made the first of two foul shots with 5:41 left.

But Flores answered with a three, igniting an 8-1 NJIT rally that concluded with Wilkerson's two free throws that made it 72-69 with 2:32 left.

McCollum's three from the left corner pushed the lead back to six and the Highlanders pulled back to within four points twice in the last 2:01, but Lehigh shot 11-for-12 on free throws the rest way to finally secure the win.

NJIT (5-9) will head north to Boston College for a game Tuesday night. That contest will be the second for the Highlanders this season against a team from the powerful Atlantic Coast Conference.