NEWARK, NJ—Freshman point guard Michael Alvarado scored a game-high 23 points, 12 of them at the foul line for Manhattan Saturday afternoon as the visiting Jaspers defeated NJIT, 75-70, in the men's basketball season-opener for both teams in front of a raucous crowd in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.

Alvarado shot 12-for-15 in the game at the foul line, where Manhattan outscored the Highlanders, 34-13. The Jaspers also had a 46-24 advantage in free throw attempts.

Some of that disparity arose from the fact that Manhattan's offense was more inside-oriented, while NJIT got more of its baskets from the perimeter. The Jaspers attempted just eight three-point shots, compared to 33 long-range tries for the Highlanders.

In addition to Alvarado's 23 points, the Jaspers got 19 points from senior forward Andrew Gabriel, who was his team's most effective inside scorer; 15 points plus a team-best 11 rebounds from sophomore swingman George Beamon; and, 10 points from junior guard Kidani Brutus.

The scoring and rebounding leader for NJIT was junior Isaiah Wilkerson, who notched a double-double, with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Chris Flores added 13 points and Arjun Ohri, a junior transfer playing his first game for NJIT, produced 10 points off the bench.

Manhattan jumped out early, building its biggest lead at 21-7 on Beamon's tip-in with 11:08 remaining in the first half.

NJIT, which played from behind most of the day, got back in, but trailed at halftime, 31-25. Beamon led all scorers at the break, with 12 points, while Wilkerson scored 11 to pace NJIT.

Beamon made a three-pointer to put the Jaspers on top, 43-36, with 14:34 left, before NJIT spurted and took what would be its final lead of the day, 50-49, on a three-pointer from the top of the arc by Wilkerson with 7:55 to play.

The Jaspers answered with an 11-1 run over the next 2:56 that included five points from Beamon and four from Gabriel, for a 60-51 lead at the 4:59 mark.

NJIT came back to within four points seven different times after that and got to within two points, 68-66, on a layup by Dytanya Johnson with 46 seconds left. But Manhattan stayed on top, aided by 7-for-8 foul shooting in the final 39 seconds.

Johnson, fellow freshman Kherel Silcott, and junior Ryan Regis rotated in and out of the game as post players, combining for nine points and 12 rebounds in 40 minutes.

Another freshman, Lamar Kearse, played 20 minutes off the bench, mostly at point guard. He had five assists without a turnover and scored five points, including a jump shot from just inside the three-point line that pulled the Highlanders to within four points of the lead, 72-68, with 15 seconds remaining.

The Highlanders will return to action quickly, hosting NYU-Poly on Monday at 7 pm in the Fleisher Athletic Center.