Box score

NEWARK, NJ—Stephon Carter scored four of CSU Bakersfield's seven overtime points, helping the visiting Roadrunners to a 72-70 non-conference overtime win at NJIT Wednesday night in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
 
Carter, a junior guard who finished with 11 points, was one of four double-figure scorers for CSU Bakersfield (15-14), which had defeated the Highlanders in another thriller, 71-70, in regulation when the two teams played in California on January 10.
 
The Roadrunners also got 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds from senior center Donald Johnson, while Tyrone White came off the bench for 11 points and starting point guard Issiah Grayson added 10 points.

Mo Hughley, a native of Queens, NY, had a sizeable contingent of family and friends in the crowd and the reserve center finished with six points, eight rebounds and game-high totals of six assists, three blocked shots and three steals for CSUB.
 
NJIT (11-16) lost its third straight despite a game-high 23 points for junior Chris Flores, who scored 20 after halftime. Isaiah Wilkerson added 12 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes of play, while Lamar Kearse chipped in 11 points and had four assists without a turnover in 29 minutes.
 
The Highlanders, who suffered their second overtime loss in the last three home games (they lost 99-97 in double overtime vs. Utah Valley on February 9), never led and were tied just twice all night. But they made a thrilling comeback to erase a 17-point deficit over the final 8:14 of regulation and forced overtime by outscoring the visitors 9-2 in the last 52 seconds of the rally.
 
CSU Bakersfield, which took an early 15-3 lead and held a 31-23 advantage at the halftime break, was still on top 46-42 when it exploded on a 13-0 run in a space of 4:18 from the 12:32 mark to 8:14, when a 3-pointer by White made the score 59-42 for the Roadrunners.
 
White, who scored eight in the 13-0 run on a layup and two triples, seemed to put the game out of NJIT's reach when he hit his second three, which was the third in three trips down the floor for CSUB, as White connected for three, Grayson hit a three 37 seconds later, and then White did it again for the 17-point Roadrunner lead.
 
NJIT answered with an 11-0 run of its own, but it didn't begin until Kearse drove down the lane for a layup at the 6:37 mark. The comeback began in earnest a bit more than a minute later, when Flores hit the first of what would be three straight triples in a span of 1:32, trimming the CSUB lead to 59-53 with exactly four minutes left in the second half.
 
Even with that comeback, the Highlanders couldn't get the deficit under five heading into the final two minutes. Things looked bad for NJIT when, despite playing stifling defense, they deflected the ball away from Hughley near the foul line. But he tipped it ahead in the direction of Grayson, who picked it up and scored on a short jump shot with six seconds left on the shot clock and 1:20 left on the game clock for a seven-point lead, 63-56.
 
The Highlanders then employed a strategy of fouling in exchange for possession of the ball and it paid off, as CSU Bakersfield shot just 2-for-5 at the line in the last 61 seconds of regulation.
 
Hughley missed the front end of a one-and-one foul shooting chance at 1:01 and Kearse put down a pair on the other end, pulling NJIT back to within five points with 52 seconds left.
 
Zach Lamb of the Roadrunners made one of two foul shots on the next possession and Wilkerson powered his way to the goal for a layup to get NJIT within four, 64-60, with 41 seconds left.
 
PJ Miller then stole the inbounds pass along the baseline for the Highlanders and went back up for a layup attempt in an instant. Hughley block the shot, swatting it out to the perimeter, where Kearse gathered it in fired in a long 3-pointer to pull the home team within a point of the lead, 64-63.
 
The Highlanders then fouled Carter, who made the first of two foul shots to give the Roadrunners a two-point lead with 31 seconds left.
 
NJIT's Flores then drove on the next possession and picked up a foul with 22.4 seconds on the clock. The Highlander junior made both, despite a timeout called by CSUB coach Rod Barnes attempting to ice Flores after the first shot.
 
In all, the 9-2 comeback by the Highlanders that tied the score for the first time since it was 2-2 in the opening minutes of the contest, consumed just 30 seconds of playing time in the final minute of regulation. 
 
The Highlanders, who played some of their best halfcourt defense of the season and repeatedly forced CSU Bakersfield to take the shot clock down near zero, did it again with the score tied and Lamb's forced 3-point try sailed over the backboard with less than a second left in regulation.
 
The Roadrunners scored the first two baskets of overtime, getting a layup by Hughley with 3:34 left and then a jump shot from Carter 24 seconds later for a 69-65 advantage that would be a sliver beyond NJIT's reach.
 
The Highlanders never got even, but they had the ball trailing by a point at 71-70 and called timeout with 16 seconds left. Barnes, the CSUB coach, after getting a look at NJIT's set before the ball was inbounded, used a timeout of his own to set the defense.
 
The Highlanders got the ball in and dribbled off a few seconds at the top of the key. Miller, who is excellent at getting to the rim off the dribble,then attacked the lane, where he lost control before getting off a shot. CSU Bakersfield's Rashad Savage, who recovered the ball and got credit for a steal, was fouled instantly and made the first of two foul shots with four seconds left to arrive at the 72-70 final.
 
NJIT's Wilkerson got the defensive rebound on Savage's missed foul shot and dribbled near the midcourt stripe before launching a too-hard 40-foot shot at the buzzer.
 
The win was the 200th in the coaching career of Rod Barnes, who is in his first season asat CSU Bakersfield. He was Naismith National Coach of the Year when he led Ole Miss to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen in 2001 and coached eight seasons at Ole Miss and four at Georgia State before taking over his current position.
 
The Highlanders will be back in action on Saturday for their final non-conference game of the season, when they host Longwood in a 2 pm start in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center. NJIT has faced Longwood 10 times and at least once each season since the Highlanders began Division I competition in 2006-07. The most recent meeting was on January 7 in Virginia, and Longwood won, 85-70.