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NJIT men's basketball, with four wins in its last five games, hosts City Tech (New York City College of Technology) Monday in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center in a special late afternoon start for Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night.
The NJIT Department of Athletics, Human Resources and the School of Management are sponsoring the event with activities for Faculty and Staff members and their families, beginning at 4 pm. The game is scheduled for a 5 pm tipoff. There will be free food, free t-shirts, giveaways, games and much more and admission is free with an NJIT ID.
In addition to the basketball and mass giveaways, one lucky faculty or staff member who attends the game will win two round-trip tickets to anywhere in the continental United States that Continental Airlines flies, courtesy of Continental Airlines.
NJIT, which is coming off of a rousing 86-83 win at Chicago State on Saturday, has opened Great West Conference play at 3-0 and already is the only unbeaten men's team left in GWC games.
First-time opponent City Tech is an institution with over 15,000 students on its Brooklyn, NY, campus. The Yellow Jackets, who are the last of four non-Division I opponents on the Highlanders schedule, compete as members of the City University of New York Athletic Conference in the South Division. They are directed by Otis Fenn, who is in his sixth season as head coach at City Tech.
The Yellow Jackets feature 6-foot-7 junior forward, Nathaniel Young, who is the top scorer in the CUNYAC (23.4 ppg) and ranks 14th nationally in the latest official NCAA Division III rankings.
Young has four games this season with more than 30 points, including a 44-point effort on January 17 against New Jersey City University. That total is one point shy of the most in the nation in Division III this season. In City Tech's most recent game, Young scored 28 points in a Friday night CUNYAC loss to Hunter. Young's 6.1 rebounds per game also pace the Yellow Jackets.
NJIT returns home with four players averaging double-figure scoring on the season, led by junior captain Isaiah Wilkerson, who is at 12.9 ppg after scoring a team season-best 23 in two of the last three games, including Saturday's win at Chicago State when the produced five of the seven points in NJIT's closing 7-point run that pulled out an 86-83 decision. Wilkerson's 5.6 rebounds per game also top the Highlanders under the boards.
Senior Jheryl Wilson, who also scored 23 at Chicago State is at 12.3 ppg on the season, plus 4.5 rebounds per game, which is also second to Wilkerson. Wilson, who made five 3-pointers at Chicago State, leads the Highlanders for the season, with 31. He also has a team-best 49 assists.
Chris Flores is next in scoring, at 12.2 ppg, while contributing 48 assists and a team-leading 25 steals. Freshman Lamar Kearse, who has come off the bench in 12 of his 13 appearances, rounds out the double-figure scorers at 10.4 ppg. He is 24-for-49 (49 pct) on 3-point tries.
As a team, NJIT will aim to continue its new-found offensive firepower, averaging 78.4 ppg in the eight games beginning December 28. In the nine games prior, the Highlanders managed 60.6 ppg and were held to 60 points, or below, six times. In contrast, they've scored at least 79 points in six of their last seven games against Division I opponents.
Fans unable to make the game can follow all the action live on www.njithighlanders.com, which will carry a webcast play-by-play and commentary from Matt Provence, as well as an in-game real-time stat feed. Audio coverage will begin about 15 minutes before tipoff.
