Box Score
 
LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ—Senior Rayven Johnson paced the Highlanders with 18 points en route to the Highlanders first win of the 2012 season at Rider Monday evening at Alumni Gymnasium.
 
NJIT (1-1) led by as many as 16 in the second half, 41-25, with 12:30 left to go in the contest but it was the Broncs who rallied back and closed the gap to within two, 53-51, with 39 seconds remaining.  Rider's Caitlin Bopp made a three-point play with under a minute remaining to bring the Broncs' to within four and two McKenzie free throws cut the NJIT lead to two, 53-51, with 39.6 seconds left
 
The Highlanders had an opportunity to score with 13 seconds but misfired as Rider's Bopp pulled down her 11^th rebound of the game.  Point guard Sironda Chambers had a chance to tie the game at 53, but her layup with one second left on the clock was blocked by junior forward Uju Nwankwo.
 
Johnson, the current CollegeSportsMadness Great West Player of the Week shared game-high honors with Rider's MyNeshia McKenzie with 18 points.  The 5-foot-9 guard pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and dished out three assists for NJIT.
 
Three Highlanders combined for eight points – Sarah Olson, Nwankwo and Albanese.  Sophomore guard Martina Matejcikova came off the bench and added seven points and two blocks.
 
In addition to McKenzie's team-high 18 points the Broncs Mikal Johnson was the other double-figure scorer for the home team. 
 
McKenzie pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds and added two blocks while Bopp grabbed 11 rebounds as the Broncs held a 53-34 rebounding advantage. 
McKenzie scored 10 of her 18 points from the free throw line finishing the night 10-of-15.
 
Chambers finished with eight points and four rebounds while Bopp added six points.
 
The game seesawed back and forth in the early stages, with the Broncs taking a five-point lead, 11-6, after a three-pointer by Johnson with 12:14 on the clock.  The Highlanders quickly knotted the contest at 11 on a layup by Johnson and three-pointer by Matejcikova at the 10:30 mark.
 
NJIT finished off the first half on a 14-4 run in the final 5:17, taking an eight-point lead, 29-21, heading into the locker room.  NJIT's Johnson led the first 20-minutes with 12 points while Rider's Johnson had nine.
    
To start the second half, the Highlanders stayed on fire scoring the first four points increasing the Highlander lead to 12, 33-21, after back-to-back jumpers in the paint by Nwankwo.
 
NJIT widened the gap to 16, 41-25, on a jumper by sophomore Alyssa Albanese from the baseline.  The Broncs cut the lead to 10, 41-31, with 10:40 left to go on a jumper by Taylor Wentzel.
 
The home team would then cut the Highlander lead down to single-digits with 6:43 left to go in the game on a layup by McKenzie but the visitors responded with a layup on the opposite end by Matejcikova, pushing the lead up to 11, 51-40.
 
With 4:27 remaining in the game, Rider went on an 11-2 run pulling within two of the Highlanders with 39 seconds remaining in the contest.  Nine out of 11 of the points in the run for the Broncs at the free throw line.
 
Rider, which scored 24 of its 51 points from the free throw line shot 74 percent for the game.
 
NJIT head coach Steve Lanpher registered his first career win at NJIT in the 53-51 victory at Rider Monday. 
 
NJIT will return to action on Thursday, November 15 when the Highlanders host Centenary (NJ) at 7pm in the Fleisher Athletic Center.  This will be the home opener for the Highlanders.