Box Score (PDF)


NEWARK, N.J. – Bronx native Lamont Middleton scored 17 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, guiding North Carolina A&T to a 76-71 defeat of the Highlanders on Tuesday at Fleisher Athletic Center. Sophomore Austin Witter added career-highs with 13 rebounds and eight blocks as the Aggies (4-6) outscored the Highlanders (5-5) by a 40-30 margin after halftime.

The loss was NJIT's first at home this season and snapped the Highlanders' seven-game home winning streak dating back to last season – one win short of what would have been the longest in their Division I era and since the 2002-03 campaign.

“They [the Aggies] guarded well and rebounded well, so you have to give them a lot of credit,” Head Coach Jim Engles said. “They negated a lot of the things we do well and put a lot of pressure on us tonight.”

NJIT was led in scoring by senior F Ryan Woods, who finished with a career-high 23 points fueled by six three-pointers – which were also a career high and tied a Highlanders D-I record done four prior times. Senior G Chris Flores was the only other Highlander in double-figures with 15 points while junior F Quentin Bastian recorded a team-high eight rebounds.

Senior G PJ Miller had a game-high seven assists, one behind the NJIT D-I record of eight that he has posted a pair of times – including earlier this season against South Carolina State on Nov. 24.

The Highlanders, who trailed 7-0 less than two minutes into the game, built up a 41-36 lead at the half. At its apex, the lead was six with 3:53 remaining in the first stanza.

But the tone of the second period was set right after the break. A bucket by senior F Adrian Powell following his own offensive rebound trimmed the lead to two and jump-started a 12-4 run for the Aggies.

Freshman G Ky Howard answered with a three-pointer to tie the game at 48-48 with 12:57 remaining. However, that was the last of the scoring by NJIT for quite some time. The Aggies held the Highlanders without a point for the next 5:03 until a tip-in by sophomore F Daquan Holiday snapped the drought at 7:54.

By that time, however, North Carolina A&T had built back a six-point lead  -- and Middleton's jumper from beyond the arc just 15 second later put the Aggies back up by a then-game high seven at 57-50.

The lead ballooned to 12 points with 4:27 remaining in the game. Although the Highlanders overcame a greater hurdle in its win over Army less than 48 hours earlier – when they trailed by 12 points with 2:53 to go – the Aggies would not allow the same fate.

Middleton, certainly, would not allow the same fate as he connected on 12 of 14 free-throw attempts in the second half to deny NJIT to get any closer than to within five points.

The Aggies also got double-digit scoring efforts from Powell, who tallied 16 points and seven rebounds, and senior F Dametrius Upchurch, who registered 11 points and nine rebounds (six offensive).

Sparked by Upchurch, the Aggies out-rebounded the Highlanders, 47-37. And although the visitors entered with just a .379 combined field-goal percentage for the season, North Carolina AT&T out-shot NJIT, 39.3 percent to 38.5 percent.

After shooting 40 percent or better in five of their first six affairs, the Highlanders have been held to less than 39 percent from the floor in their last four games – shooting a combined 87-253 (.345) during the span.

For the third straight game, Woods and Flores were the only double-digit scorers for NJIT. With opposing defenses really beginning to key on the team's top two scorers, the duo has combined to shoot just 32.7 percent (36-110) during these contests. Fortunately fot the Highlanders, these two seniors have combined to blaze at 42.1 percent (24-57) from beyond the arc within the same frame.

“Teams will continue to focus on Ryan and Chris for the rest of the season; it's not going to change,” Engles said. “So we're going to need other guys to step up and get a little bit more consistent with some of the things they're doing.”

Despite the loss, NJIT remains off to the best start in its D-I era and its best since 2000-01 (6-4).

“Unfortunately, we didn't play to the level we are capable of tonight,” Engles said. “We're still off to a great start. We like our team and we like what we're about.”

NJIT will now have eight days to regroup before facing D-III City College of N.Y. (4-6) on Dec. 22 at Fleisher Athletic Center. North Carolina A&T will next play at Seton Hall on Saturday.


Write-up courtesy of Matt Provence