Box score

CHICAGO—NJIT senior Isaiah Wilkerson scored 10 of his career-high 26 points in the final minute, helping the visiting Highlanders to a hard-fought Great West Conference men's basketball win at Chicago State, 73-64, Saturday evening.
 
NJIT's first conference road win in three tries this season lifted the Highlanders' GWC total record to 3-2 and brought their overall mark to 10-12, as they snapped what had been a season-worst three-game overall losing streak.
 
The three-game skid, which came on the heels of a season-best three-game NJIT winning streak, began with losses last weekend in the first two conference road games at North Dakota and at Utah Valley and continued with a 76-73 non-conference defeat at home against Colgate on February 1. Saturday's road win was the first for NJIT since November 30, when it edged Army, 54-53, at West Point. The Highlanders had lost eight away games in a row before topping Chicago State (2-20, 1-4 Great West).
 
Wilkerson, whose previous career scoring high was 24 (done three times, including on January 10 at CSU Bakersfield and January 19 at home vs. Houston Baptist), stood out as NJIT's headliner with his game-best totals in points (26) and rebounds (9). But there were numerous contributions throughout the lineup, including some players whose individual stats do not jump off of the score sheet.
 
Two other Highlanders scored in double-figures, with starting wing forward Ryan Woods collecting 12 points and his substitute, senior Arjun Ohri, netting 11.
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Chris Flores (9 points) had his lowest scoring game in nearly two month, but he was an important contributor in Saturday's hard-fought road victory. As one of NJIT's primary ballhandlers, he committed just one turnover in 36 minutes of play, while passing for four assists and grabbing five rebounds.

And while his scoring total was less than normal, Flores still made some big shots. His 3-pointer with 12 minutes left tied the score at 42 just 1:17 after Chicago State had taken what would be its biggest lead, 42-36. And later, after Chicago State had trimmed a nine-point NJIT lead to three, Flores drained another trey to put the Highlanders up by six, 61-55, at the 4:49 mark.

Flores, who had reached double-figure scoring in his previous 13 consecutive games, last fell shy of 10 on December 6 against Seton Hall, when he also managed nine points.

Sophomore Lamar Kearse came off the Highlander bench to make just one field goal, but he posted a game-high five assists and committed just two miscues against trapping defensive backcourt pressure from the Cougars. Kearse, who played 17 minutes in the second half, also made two big steals, including a big one late helping down to defend the post.
 
Another unsung Highlander was freshman Daquan Holiday, who played as many minutes in Saturday's second half as he had played in a whole game before Saturday.

Holiday, who is 17 years old and a bit thin for a Division I post player at this point in his development, played exclusively against non-Division I opponents until NJIT's junior center Sean McCarthy broke his thumb the first week in January. Holiday finally faced a DI opponent for the first time on January 7, but he continued to see limited action until this week.

With McCarthy still out, everyone else moved up the depth chart when regular NJIT starting center Ryan Regis hurt his leg in practice prior to the February 1 game vs. Colgate. Holiday played 12 minutes in that one and scored seven points, while also delivering three blocked shots.
 
Regis was a no-go again on Saturday and freshman Garrett Frick got the start for a second game in a row. When Frick picked up a third foul early in the second half in Chicago, the door opened wide for Holiday, who had played seven minutes in the first half.
 
Playing 16 more minutes in the second half for a career-high total of 23, Holiday scored six points and grabbed five rebounds after entering. His game total of seven rebounds was a new career high.
 
Chicago State finished with three double-figure scorers, topped by junior guard Matt Samuels' 23 points coming off the bench. Samuels, who also got six rebounds, scored five in the first half, was rewarded by starting the second half and responded with 18 points in 18 minutes after the intermission.
 
Grad student Lee Fisher added 16 points and a team-leading eight rebounds and junior big man Jeremy Robinson chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars.
 
The teams traded five-point runs to open the game, but the Highlanders gained the upper hand with a 12-2 run capped by a Wilkerson 3-pointer that put NJIT on top, 17-7, 5:57 into the game.
 
The Highlanders took their biggest lead, 26-15, on another Wilkerson three with 5:28 left in the half and the bulge was still 10, 31-21, after Wilkerson's layup at 3:01.
 
However, NJIT, which did a good job running its offense for good shots, missed some open looks and did not score for the rest of the half. In turn, the home team scored five, including a Samuels 3-pointer, trimming the Highlander halftime lead to 31-26.
 
Wilkerson, who shot 5-for-5 from the field, including four triples, led all scorers with 14 first-half points. For Chicago State, Fisher had 12 points at the break. He scored nine of his team's first 11 points and 11 of the first 17 on Saturday.
 
NJIT held onto its lead to begin the second half and was on top by six, 36-30, after a Woods trey with 15:54 left. But Chicago State went on a 12-0 run from 15:35 to 13:27, when a Samuels layup staked the Cougars to a 42-36 edge.
 
Kearse made a three on the next possession and, after Samuels miss, the Highlanders drew back even when Kearse found Flores for another triple at the 12-munute mark.
 
The teams traded free throws and one, by NJIT's Holiday, produced the third and final tie of the game, 43-43, at 11:18.
 
Wilkerson, who had not attempted a free throw in his 14-point first half, put the Highlanders on top to stay with a pair of foul shots, making it 45-43 with 10:11 left.
 
The three free throws—one by Holiday and two by Wilkerson—triggered a 12-3 run for NJIT in a span 3:51, as the Highlanders went up, 55-46, on Holiday's layup at 7:27.
 
In a Great West Conference where only one men's road team won a game in the first two weekends and teams are based in three time zones, easy away wins are rare.
 
Saturday was no exception for the visiting Highlanders. They led for the last 10:11, but it took Wilkerson's program record-setting foul line performance in the last minute to let NJIT breathe easily.
 
Even before the last minute, Chicago State sliced NJIT's nine-point lead at 7:27 down to three, 58-55, after a pair of Fisher free throws with 5:06 to play.
 
Flores made the big three on the next possession, but the Highlander lead was still just 63-60 after two Jeremy Robinson foul shots heading into the final minute.
 
Up to then, one of the problems for NJIT was spotty foul shooting. Despite leading most of the game, the Highlanders were just 2-for-4 at the line in the first half and 6-for-12 in the first 19 minutes of the second half.
 
Then Wilkerson took over, going 8-for-8 in the last 39 seconds to make it all but impossible for Chicago State to mount a successful comeback. In the end, Wilkerson's 10-for-10 total at the line was a new program Division I record for most made free throws without a miss.
 
Having gotten back on the winning side of the ledger in Great West play, NJIT will return home for a huge conference weekend series.
 
On Thursday, the Highlanders will host a 7 pm game in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center against defending GWC regular season champ Utah Valley. That game will be a rematch of NJIT's game at Utah Valley on January 28, when the Wolverines overpowered the Highlanders, 81-58.
 
On Saturday, February 11, the Highlanders will entertain 2011 GWC Tournament champ North Dakota at 2 pm in the Fleisher Athletic Center. North Dakota beat NJIT in Grand Forks, 80-63, on February 26.