Box score

BAKERSFIELD, CA—CSU Bakersfield turned a five-point deficit midway through the second half into a seven-point lead with 4:54 left and then held on for a 71-70 victory over visiting NJIT in non-conference men's basketball Tuesday night.
                                               
Playing in the Pacific Time Zone for the first time since November 2007 and taking on Division I Independent CSU Bakersfield for the first time ever, the Highlanders gave a strong effort, despite falling in back-to-back games for the second time this season.
 
If a loss can be heartening, Tuesday's defeat nearly 3,000 miles from home would qualify. First, CSUB is a good team that is now 6-2 at home and 9-9 overall. The only two home losses for the Roadrunners came by one point to New Mexico State and then vs. nationally-ranked UNLV.
 
Second, NJIT needed to show intensity and focus after lacking enough of both in an 85-70 defeat at Longwood in Virginia last weekend to begin the two-game, seven-day trip that ended in Bakersfield. And the Highlanders showed plenty of both intangible qualities Tuesday night in California.
 
NJIT's previous back-to-back losses were in early December at Georgetown and Seton Hall, both of whom have since achieved National Top 25 ranking (Georgetown is in the Top 10).
 
The Highlanders (6-9) lost at CSU Bakersfield despite an NJIT season-best 24 points from Isaiah Wilkerson, who also matched his personal high, which he previously reached against Maryland Eastern Shore in January 2009 as a freshman. Wilkerson also matched his career high in assists, with five, a total he has managed three times before, but not since 2010. In addition to the game-high five assists, the senior tri-captain led NJIT in rebounds (6) and steals (3).
 
Junior Chris Flores added 16 points and reached a personal milestone, crossing the 1,000-point barrier for his career on the final shot of the game, a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Flores, who has 1,002 points, is the third NJIT player in the last two years to reach 1,000 points, following Wilkerson and Jheryl Wilson (Class of '11), who did it early in 2009-10. The three are NJIT's only 1,000-point scorers to achieve the milestone playing their entire careers at the Division I level.
 
Flores was limited by foul trouble to three points and four minutes of action in the first half and his replacement, sophomore Lamar Kearse, came up big, finishing with 13 points and four rebounds.
 
CSU Bakersfield (9-9), a balanced offensive team, had four double-figure scorers against the Highlanders, led by 15 points from senior Donald Johnson, who also came off the bench for a game-high eight rebounds.
 
Another reserve big man, junior Mo Hughley scored 14, while junior swingman Tyrone White, started and also scored 14. Junior point guard Issiah Grayson added 10, seven coming in the last 6:47, including two free throws with 4.1 seconds left to put the game out of NJIT's reach at 71-67.
 
The final score was a fair indicator of how close the game was all night, as both teams played hard and with a high level of skill and intelligence.
 
The halftime score was 34-34 and the biggest lead for CSUB was seven, at 66-59, on Hughley's layup with 4:54 left. NJIT's biggest lead was six, which came early, 13-7, after a Kearse 3-pointer with 13:54 remaining in the first half and again in the second half.
 
The first half had two ties and five lead changes, while the second half saw three more ties, for a game total of five, and eight more lead changes, for a total of 13.
 
The Highlanders, who led the whole first half until a dunk by White gave CSUB its first lead, 24-23, at 5:23, eventually fell behind by five. But a jumper for Wilkerson and later a traditional 3-point play by Kearse pulled NJIT back even at the break.
 
Wilkerson ended the half with 11 points for the Highlanders, followed by 10 from Kearse, while Johnson had 12 for the Roadrunners and White had nine.
 
Despite being tied, NJIT had allowed CSUB six offensive rebounds and the second-chance points were a glaring 12-0 in favor of the 'Runners. The Highlanders, who shot an impressive 61.9 percent from the field (13-21) were also undermined by turnovers, with 10 in the half and the home team held a 12-8 lead in points-off-turnovers.
 
NJIT fixed the rebounding disparity, outrebounding the Roadrunners in the second half, 16-12, for a 26-26 break-even overall. CSU got three more offensive rebounds after the break and the second-chance points in the second half favored NJIT 9-4, for a less glaring 16-9 overall advantage to the Roadrunners.
 
The Highlanders still had turnovers in the second half (nine) but the final points-off-turnovers ended at 22-19 in favor of the winners.
 
As they had held the upper hand early in the first half, the Highlanders did so again in the second, scoring the first five points of the half and only trailing briefly, by two points, over the first 12:37 of the second.
 
NJIT, which led by six after first Flores and then Wilkerson hit treys for a 54-48 advantage with 12:09 left, still led, 56-51, on a Kearse tip-in with 10:04 remaining.
 
CSU Bakersfield then swung that five-point deficit to a seven-point lead, with a 15-3 run in a span of 4:01, capped by Hughley's layup, making it 66-59, CSUB, at 4:54.
 
But the Highlanders, who would shoot 15-for-18 (83.3 percent) at the foul line, fought back, as PJ Miller made two free throws and Garrett Frick hit the second of two, pulling NJIT within four, 66-62.
 
Grayson answered with a pair of free throws, giving his team a 68-62 edge with 2:52 left, but Ryan Regis scored a layup with 2:05 left and Flores nailed a three at the 57-second mark to pull NJIT back to within a single point, 68-67.
 
After a steal by PJ Miller on the next possession, the Highlanders lost the ball themselves near midcourt and Hughley was fouled with 20 seconds left. He made the first and missed the second, with Wilkerson coming down with the rebound and the Highlanders trailing by two.
 
After working for an open shot, NJIT got one, a Wilkerson try from beyond the arc and to the right of the key with 4.9 seconds left. The shot rimmed out and Grayson, grabbing his second board of the night, was fouled instantly.
 
A 72 percent foul shooter on the year and 3-for-4 on the night to that point, Grayson swished the first, extending the 'Runner lead to three. NJIT coach Jim Engles then called his final timeout attempting to ice the shooter, but Grayson came back and swished the remaining foul shot for a four-point lead with 4.1 seconds left.
 
The Highlanders pushed the ball ahead quickly and Flores' shot from the top of the key beat the buzzer. But without an unlikely foul call, NJIT had no chance and fell short, 71-70.
 
After flying back across the country from Los Angeles to Newark on Wednesday, the Highlanders will begin a three-game homestand, starting with a 2 pm game on Saturday in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center against SUNY Cobleskill.