Game Notes (PDF)


HIGHLIGHTS:
•           NJIT's victory over Army – which required erasing a 14-point deficit – was the Highlanders' largest comeback since overcoming a 15-point deficit in a 65-63 OT win at UTPA on Feb. 19, 2011.  
•          NJIT seeks to have a sixth win before the New Year for the first time in its D-I era (since 2006-07) and for the first time overall since 2000-01, when the D-II Highlanders started 6-2 through Dec. 15 (and 7-4 through Dec. 30).
•          At 5-4, NJIT is off to the best start in its D-I era and its best since 2000-01 (6-3). Previously, the fastest the Highlanders ever achieved five wins occurred when they improved to 5-6 in Game 11 on Dec. 28, 2011. In fact, in three of these first six years, they never reached the five-win plateau
•          NJIT seeks its eighth consecutive home victory dating back to last season – which would set a new record in the D-I era. (NJIT hasn't lost at home since a 72-70 OT loss to CSU Bakersfield on 2/22/12). The Highlanders last won eight straight during the 2002-03 season.
•           NJIT entered the week leading the Great West Conference in both scoring offense (70.0 ppg) and scoring defense (60.1 ppg).


NEWARK, N.J. – Less than 48 hours after arguably their greatest comeback in their Division I era, the Highlanders return to action Thursday for their first-ever meeting with North Carolina A&T (3-6) of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Fleisher Athletic Center.

On Tuesday, the Highlanders (5-4) improved to a perfect 5-0 at home this season with a 69-67 win over Army that required a buzzer-beating layup by senior Chris Flores with :01 remaining. The game-winning bucket capped a 14-point comeback – and a 12-point deficit with less than three minutes remaining in regulation.

The Highlanders prevailed despite being outshot (44.2 percent to 32.8) and out-rebounded (48-25) while committing 28 fouls.

However, it was NJIT's trademark – team defense -- that most enabled the comeback. The Highlanders forced 23 Army turnovers – NJIT's highest total since creating 25 turnovers in a 72-57 win over North Dakota on Feb. 11, 2012 – while outscoring the Black Knights a staggering 27-9 in points off turnovers.

Coincidentally or not, it was also Flores who hit the game-winning layup with :00.3 seconds remaining against New Hampshire on Nov. 21 in an affair in which the Highlanders won by the identical 69-67 score.

Flores finished with a game-high 17 points – 14 of which came in the second half. The Great West Conference's leading scorer (18.0 ppg) also had a contest-best five steals and a game-high tying seven rebounds. His winning bucket came on an assist from freshman G Nigel Sydnor, who found Flores cutting down the lane on a baseline inbounds play.

The Preseason 2012-13 GWC Player of the Year has already won two of the five GWC Player of the Week awards this season.

Senior F Ryan Woods was the NJIT's only other double-digit scorer on Tuesday, netting 16 points to compliment his share of the night's lead with seven rebounds. Woods is second on the team in both scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounding (5.2 rpg).

Freshman F Terrence Smith, who has made a significant splash in his NCAA debut season, leads the team at 7.6 rpg – a figure that places him second in GWC behind Utah Valley's Ben Aird (7.7 rpg). Meanwhile, senior G PJ Miller leads the GWC in both assists (4.3 apg) and steals (2.0 spg). 

The Highlanders have gone 1-3 all-time against teams from the MEAC and 1-1 this season, as NJIT split a home-and-home series with South Carolina State (4-5) back in November.

With a win, the Highlanders will remain perfect at home and have a chance on Dec. 22 against D-III City College of N.Y. (4-6) to extend their home winning streak to nine games – which would be their longest since a 12-gamer between 1995-96 and 1996-76.


ONE FOR THE AGGIES:

North Carolina A&T (3-6) returns to action with a two-game Jersey swing through NJIT and Seton Hall following an 11-day layoff – which was a long time to chew on a 66-62 home loss to North Carolina Central in its last contest on Dec. 1.

The Aggies have a pair of Division I wins this season, having defeated Campbell (Big South) on Nov. 23 and UNC-Greensboro (Southern) on Nov. 28. They started their season with a win over Division III Greenville (Ill.) College.

The Aggies haven't finished above the .500 mark in 15 seasons – which includes a 12-20 mark a year ago. Additionally, NC AT&T has not been to the NCAA Tournament in 17 straight campaigns. So after a fourth one-and-done exit from the MEAC tournament in a five-year span, NC A&T fired Head Coach Jerry Eaves and brought legendary MEAC Head Coach Cy Alexander back to D-I for the first time since 2009.

Prior to his most recent stint at Tennessee State (2003-09), Alexander led South Carolina State to the Big Dance five times in his 16 seasons there.

Alexander inherited a roster with seven seniors. In fact, two returnees -- 6-0 junior G Jeremy Underwood and 6-7 sophomore F Waylan Siverand -- combined for more than 60 percent of the Aggies' scoring last season.

Neither have been major factors for NC A&T this year, but the Aggies have found scoring from junior transfer Lamont Middleton, Jr. – who is leading the team in scoring at 12.6 ppg. The 6-3 combo guard from the Bronx earned all-region honors as a sophomore at Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh last season, averaging 19.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 3.5 apg. His father, Lamont Sr., played at St. John's.

Senior Adrian Powell, a 6-6 swingman, boasts NC AT&T's only other double-digit scoring average at 10.4 ppg.

Senior Austin Witter has grabbed a team-leading 6.6 rpg to go along with 5.3 ppg.

Overall, the Aggies have struggled to score, averaging just 62.8 ppg (268^th in nation) on .379 shooting (327^th in nation). The Highlanders should prove a tough matchup in that regard, as NJIT has held opponents to a .366 field-goal percentage this season. According to the most recent NCAA statistics, that figure ranked 11^th in the nation.


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