Game Notes (PDF)


HIGHLIGHTS:
•           NJIT seeks its seventh consecutive home victory dating back to last season (starting after a 72-70 OT loss to CSU Bakersfield on 2/22/12).
•           NJIT plays its first of three games against Patriot League opponents this season. The Highlanders went 2-1 against the same three PL foes last year – including a 54-53 win at Army on 11/30/11.
•           NJIT leads the Great West Conference in both scoring offense (70.0 ppg) and scoring defense (60.1 ppg).
•           The Highlanders field-goal percentage defense (.359) leads the GWC and was ranked 11th in the country last week.
•           The Highlanders have posted a +7.1 rebounding margin this season which leads the GWC. In fact, they entered last week ranked 11^th in the country at 43.7 rebounds per game. Over the past two campaigns, the Highlanders are 15-7 (.682) when they out-rebound their opponent.


NEWARK, N.J. -- After dropping a pair of BIG EAST road affairs, the Highlanders (4-4) return home for a three-game stand starting with Army (4-4) on Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Fleisher Athletic Center.

The Highlanders should be excited about a return to campus, as they've posted a perfect 4-0 record in home games this season and currently own a six-game home winning streak dating back to 2011-12. Most recently, they swept a three-game homestand from Nov. 21-27 with wins against New Hampshire (69-67), South Carolina State (72-63) and Division III Lyndon State (98-42).

NJIT should also be pleased to face a team isn't a BIG EAST denizen. Although the Highlanders have played close in three BIG EAST losses this season – with all deficits in single digits – the team is 4-1 in its other five match-ups.

Tuesday's battle of 4-4 squads marks the fourth installment of the NJIT-Army all-time series. The Black Knights won the first three battles before the Highlanders escaped with a 54-53 victory in Christl Arena at West Point on Nov. 30, 2011.

In that game, the Highlanders nearly led from start to finish. However, after NJIT built a game-high, 16-point lead with 15:10 remaining, the Black Knights stormed back and nearly won the game. Down by a point, Josh Herbeck's off-balance baseline layup attempt in traffic rolled off the rim at the buzzer.

Of the Highlanders' 54 points, 40 (74 percent) were scored Isaiah Wilkerson (21) and Lamar Kearse (19) -- two players no longer with the program. Senior point guard PJ Miller (two points) played only eight minutes before leaving for good with a knee injury. Senior Ryan Woods scored eight points off the bench in just his third career Division I contest and senior Chris Flores tallied just four points in 22 minutes off the bench. No other Highlander scored in the game.

Army, which shot just 31.6 percent in that matchup, was led in scoring by Ella Ellis – who shot just 3-for-13 for his team-high 11 points. Jordan Springer finished with 10 points on a more efficient 4-for-6 shooting.

Most recently, the Highlanders lost to Seton Hall, 68-59, at the Prudential Center on Dec. 4. Despite falling behind by as many as 14 points while shooting just 25 percent (7-28) in the first half, NJIT rallied behind the Great West Conference's leading scorer to trim its deficit down to four with 2:09 remaining. Flores netted a game-high 23 points – all after behind held scoreless until his three-pointer moments before the final buzzer of the first half. However, the Highlanders never got any closer.

Impressively, the Highlanders out-rebounded the Pirates, 43-40. The GWC's leading rebounding team entered the game ranked 11^th in the nation in rebounding at 43.7 rpg.

Of course, the team's defense continues to be a major positive for fifth-year Head Coach Jim Engles. Not only do the Highlanders lead the GWC in field-goal percentage defense (.359) and scoring defense (60.1), they rank 11^th and 53^rd in the nation in those categories, respectively.

Individual, Flores continues to lead the GWC at 18.1 ppg. The Preseason 2012-13 GWC Player of the Year has already won two of the five GWC Player of the Week awards this season.

Freshman F Terrence Smith, who has made a significant splash in his NCAA debut season, leads the GWC at 7.9 rebounds per game -- which ranks eighth in the nation among freshman. Meanwhile, senior G PJ Miller leads the GWC in both assists (4.1 apg) and steals (1.9 spg).

Senior F Ryan Woods, a Staten Island native, is second on the team in scoring (13.4 ppg) and third in rebounding (5.0 rpg).

At 4-4, NJIT still is off to the best start in its Division I era (since 2006-07). Previously, the fastest the Highlanders ever achieved four wins was last season – when they won in Game 9 to go to 4-5 on Dec. 12, 2011.


A KNIGHTS TALE:

The Black Knights (4-4) look to return to their winning ways following a 78-70 loss at Penn State (5-4) on Saturday. After an impressive 3-1 start, they've now dropped three of their last four contests starting with a double-overtime loss at Yale on Nov. 24.

Similarly to NJIT at Seton Hall, Army was able to trim a 15-point, first-half deficit at PSU down to just two points in the second half. But despite a game-high 23 points from senior F Ella Ellis, the Black Knights, too, eventual fell short. Army was out-shot, .509 -.389, while being out-rebounded, 41-27.

Prior to their loss to the Nittany Lions, the Black Knights pounded Marist, 91-57, on Dec. 4 for their largest margin of victory against a D-I team since an 82-47 win against VMI during the 1970-71 season.

Despite Army's streak of 27 consecutive seasons below .500, fourth-year Head Coach Zach Spiker may have a group that finally posts a winning record this season.

The Black Knights return four starters, 10 of its top 11 scorers and 10 of its top 11 rebounders from a 12-18 squad a year ago – including All-Patriot League First-Team selection, Ella Ellis, who is the team's leading scorer and rebounder so far this season.

Ellis currently ranks second in the PL at 20.1 ppg -- trailing just Lehigh's C.J. McCollum (24.9 ppg) -- and 13^th in rebounding (5.0 rpg). Last year, he ranked third (17.5) and 10^th (4.9) in the conference, respectively. The 6-7 Houston native also currently leads the PL with 3.0 three-pointers per game.

Freshman G Kyle Wilson is the only other Black Knight averaging double-digits in scoring at 11.4 ppg, a total that leads all PL freshmen.

Last season, junior G Josh Herbeck (10.3 ppg) shot 40.1 percent from beyond the arc while canning 2.5 treys per game, which ranked second in the PL. The team's third-leading scorer this season (9.4) is averaging 2.4 treys per contest, which lists seventh among conference leaders.

Collectively, the Black Knights rank second in the PL in scoring offense (75.0) and rebounding margin (+3.2).

The last time Army visited Fleisher Athletic Center, a half-court buzzer-beater from  Jeremy Hence lifted the Black Knights to a 63-
60 dramatic victory on Nov. 18, 2010. Also of note, Army amazingly connected on a similar heave by Jason  Pancoe to end the first half of that same game.


Fans can follow all the action live on www.njithighlanders.com, which will carry a live video stream and webcast play-by-play and commentary from Matt Provence, as well as an in-game real-time stat feed. Audio coverage begins at 7:15 p.m. with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.


Write-up courtesy of Matt Provence