Box Score
CHICAGO, IL—Chicago State scored 48 second-half points and came from behind for an 81-75 Great West Conference men's basketball win over visiting NJIT Saturday afternoon in the Jones Convocation Center.
The Cougars, who wrapped up their regular season with a 9-22 overall record and a 4-8 mark in the Great West, got 22 points from junior guard Christian Wall, 20 from junior center Carl Montgomery and 18 from junior forward Antonio Lofton.
The Highlanders, who are 9-19 overall and 4-7 in the Great West with a game still to be played Sunday evening at South Dakota, lost despite getting a game-best 26 points from junior guard Jheryl Wilson. Chris Flores added 17 points for the Highlanders and 11 points from Sammy Schickel.
Wilson has been on a tear with 114 points in his last five games (22.8 points per game). He also led NJIT with six rebounds against Chicago State.
The Highlanders, who were playing the middle of a three-games-in-four-days stretch of games, led at halftime, 37-33, paced by 11 points from Schickel, the sophomore who made his first college start. Wall scored 17 of his points in the first half for the Cougars.
NJIT began the game strong and grabbed a 12-5 lead when Schickel hit a three-point basket 5:06 into the contest. However, the Highlanders would not have a bigger lead until late in the first half, when Schickel drained another three to make it 37-29 with 1:45 left in the period.
Chicago State scored the last four points of the first half and then the first six of the second half and went ahead, 39-37, on a layup by Montgomery, who would score 14 second-half points. He also shared game rebound honors with teammate Kabangu Kasamba at eight boards apiece.
The contest had four ties and 15 lead changes overall and it remained close until a 9-0 Chicago State outburst that turned a one-point deficit into a 62-54 lead in a matter of 1:38 capped by a pair of Antonio Lofton free throws at 6:33. Lofton, who was 14-for-16 at the foul line in the game, made 12 of his free throws in the second half.
Once the Cougars built that eight-point lead, they were in control the rest of the way and did not let NJIT any closer until the final 20 seconds.
NJIT will close the regular season on Sunday night at South Dakota, making up a game that was postponed from February 13 due to a winter storm that prevented NJIT from flying out of Newark.
