• NJIT will look for its fourth consecutive home victory going back to last season. The current streak started after a 72-70 OT loss to CSU Bakersfield on 2/22/12.
• Through three games, NJIT has held its opposition to shooting just 32.1 percent (59-184) from the floor. In fact, the Highlanders have allowed a total of just four field goals in the final 7:07 of each of their three games – holding opponents to 4-31 (.129) in the 21:21 combined.
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The 23 points by freshmen G
Nigel Sydnor (12), F
Terrence Smith (6) and G
Ky Howard (5) at SC State were the most by NJIT freshman in a Division-I game since 1/12/11 -- when the combination of G
Lamar Kearse (22), F Drew Onyebuchi (3) and C Bubby Johnson (1) combined for 26 points.
The NJIT men's basketball team will start a three-game homestand with its first-ever matchup against the University of New Hampshire (2-1). The Highlanders have started 1-0 at Fleisher Athletic Center and have lost their two road games by a total of just four points – both in which they had a shot to either tie or win at the buzzer.
Jim Engles' troops will look to rebound from a hard-fought, 77-74 loss at South Carolina State on Sunday. Despite leading for more than half the game, the Highlanders could not withstand committing 30 fouls that sent the Bulldogs to the free-throw line 40 times – 31 of which occurred in the second half. Still, NJIT showed no quit, cutting a six-point deficit down to two points with 0:26 remaining and had a pair of stabs at a tie. Even after senior F
Ryan Woods missed a game-tying shot attempt with 0:07 left, two missed free throws by freshman F Darryl Palmer allowed the Highlanders a final attempt. However, senior G
PJ Miller's 23-foot jumper for the tie hit the front rim and fell short as time expired.
Woods, who finished with a Division-I career-high 20 points, scored 16 in the second half to pace the Highlanders. He now ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 16.0 ppg through three contests. Going back to last season, the transfer from Pace (NY) University is averaging 13.7 ppg in his last 12 games after starting his NJIT career at 8.2 ppg through 20 affairs.
Freshman G
Nigel Sydnor finished second on the team in scoring in Orangeburg, S.C., posting a career-high 12 points in just 13 minutes of play.
The Highlanders leading scorer, senior G
Chris Flores (19.0 ppg), fouled out against the Bulldogs with just nine points. The 2012-13 Preseason GWC Player of the Year began the season with 29- and 20-point performances after averaging 18.3 ppg in the GWC Tournament last season (3 G).
The game at SCST also marked the return of talented sophomore F
Odera Nweke, who flashed his athleticism with two rebounds, two steals and a block in his first 12 minutes of the 2012-13 season.
NJIT continues to be paced by its play on the defensive end. Through three games, the Highlanders have held the opposition to shooting 32.1 percent (59-184), the lowest three-game total imposed by the Highlanders since Games 2-4 in 2011-12 – when they held PSU-Abington, UMass and NYU-Poly to a combined 31.9 percent (30-188) from Nov. 14-20, 2011.
In addition, the Highlanders have allowed a total of just four field goals in the final 7:07 of each of their three games – holding opponents to 4-31 (.129) in the 21:21 combined.
PUTTING THE NEWS IN HAMPSHIRE
University of New Hampshire has not been a major player in league standings since finishing 19-9 in 1994-95. In fact, the Wildcats have failed to finish above .500 in the 18 seasons since and have only logged a trio of winning seasons since 1984.
However, the 2012-13 Wildcats and Head Coach Bill Herrion entered the season feeling very good about their mixture of nine returning letterwinners and four talented newcomers. And if the 2-1 start proves to be a harbinger, UNH will challenge for its first conference title in program history.
A significant factor behind the quick start is the health of senior F Ferg Myrick, who enters as the Wildcats leading scorer (15.0 ppg) and rebounder (8.3). Those totals rank fifth and second in the AEC, respectively. The Philadelphia native missed the final 16 games of his sophomore season with a ruptured patellar tendon. He returned last season and averaged 8.5 ppg and 3.7 rpg, but his knee wasn't completely healed by many accounts.
Junior F Patrick Konan is off to a fast start, as well, entering second behind Myrick in scoring (13.0 ppg) while contributing 6.0 rpg.
Myrick and Konan have been joined by a key complement in the front court in Iona transfer Chris Pelcher. The 6-10 junior center, who's registering 11.7 ppg and 7.3 rpg, has provided Herrion with the talented “big” that UNH has lacked for years.
The backcourt has been paced by junior G Jordan Bonner, who is leading the team with 10 assists while chipping in with 8.3 ppg.
Like the Highlanders, the Wildcats have been tenacious on defense – holding the opposition to a shooting percentage of .351. Last season, UNH held opponents to 62.8 ppg and ranked 13th nationally in three-point defense (.297). A significant amount of the success can be attributed to senior tri-captain Chandler Rhoads, who has collected AEC All-Defensive team honors each of the past two seasons.
In 2011-12, UNH had the third-worst field-goal percentage in the league (.401) but the second-best three-point percentage (.344). So far this season, the Wildcats have flip-flopped those numbers around at .450 and .305.
The Wildcats are hoping to begin 3-1 to match their 2010-2011 start.
Write-up courtesy of Matt Provence
