Box score
NEWARK, NJ—Jheryl Wilson scored a career-high 28 points and NJIT dominated the decisive closing minutes of a 76-68 win over defending Great West Conference men's basketball champ South Dakota Saturday afternoon in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
Wilson, a senior guard, shot 12-for-15 from the floor en route to the highest scoring total for an NJIT player since the program began Division I competition in 2006-07. Wilson, who had scored 27 points at Lehigh on January 2, 2010, had shared the old record with two other players (Clayton Barker vs. South Dakota State on Feb. 8, 2007 and Nesho Milosevic vs. Utah Valley on Feb. 2, 2008).
Wilson's 12 field goals were also a school Division I record, surpassing the old mark of 10, which had been done four times, including once by Wilson.
The Highlanders, who set a new program Division I record with their fourth straight win, are 9-2 in their last 11 games since January 8. They have won seven straight at home.
NJIT, now 11-12 overall and 5-1 in the Great West, has surpassed its previous Division I-high win total of 10 from last season and also exceeded its Great West wins total of last season, when it finished 4-8.
In addition to Wilson's record-setting 28 points, the Highlanders got 21 points and a team-leading 8 rebounds from sophomore guard Chris Flores. Isaiah Wilkerson added 10 points and 6 rebounds for NJIT.
South Dakota, which dominated the inaugural season of Great West play in 2009-10, going 11-1 in the regular season then capturing the postseason tournament with a pair of wins, is 12-12 overall and 4-3 in the Great West after losing to NJIT.
The Coyotes picked up 25 points from junior guard Charlie Westbrook, while Kendall Cutler scored 13 and Jake Thomas added 12. Freshman center Trevor Gruis grabbed 8 rebounds to lead South Dakota, which had won four of its previous five before coming to Newark.
NJIT finished off the win by dominating the last two minutes.
There were five ties and four lead changes in just over three minutes, beginning at the 4:56 mark of the second half. But NJIT freshman Dytanya Johnson, who had attempted only 22 foul shots all season, making 12, hit both ends of a one-and-one free throw opportunity to put the Highlanders ahead to stay, 69-68, with 1:41 left.
South Dakota, which made its last field goal at 2:23, did not score over the last 1:43 and NJIT got a layup from Wilson, plus five straight made free throws, beginning with the two from Johnson, in the last 53 seconds to seal the win.
The biggest lead of the day for South Dakota was three, which it got on its first possession on a 3-pointer for Thomas. But NJIT, which was ahead for most of the game, never led by more than nine points, 23-14, after Arjun Ohri's 3-point basket with 9:50 left in the first half.
South Dakota used a 9-2 run to trim the deficit to 25-23 on Mitchell Bouie's driving layup with 5:46 left in the half. NJIT stayed on top the rest of the half, but never by more than four points and the halftime score stood at 37-35, with Flores leading NJIT with 13 points and Westbrook scoring 16 first-half points for the Coyotes.
NJIT stayed on top until Kendall Cutler's drive made it 46-44 for South Dakota, but Wilson, who made all nine of his second-half shots, scored seven straight points and Flores hit a 3-pointer to give the Highlanders a 54-48 lead with 10:45 left.
A bit later, South Dakota used an 11-2 run to reclaim the lead, 63-61, after Westbrook's basket with 4:19 left.
NJIT outscored the visitors, 15-5, the rest of the way to put the win on ice.
The Highlanders will play their next four games on the road, starting on Thursday, when they visit Houston Baptist for a 7:35 pm (Central Time) Great West Conference game.
