Box score

CHICAGO—Isaiah Wilkerson scored 14 of his game-high 20 points after halftime for fourth-seeded NJIT, which defeated fifth-seeded Houston Baptist, 65-64, Thursday afternoon in the opening round of the 2012 Great West Conference men's basketball championship tournament hosted by Chicago State.
 
Announced as the 2011-12 Great West Conference Player of the Year on Wednesday evening, Wilkerson had trouble finding his range in the first half, shooting 2-for-10 from the field. However, he showed his Player of the Year form in the second half, going 6-for-9 from the field, including both of his 3-point attempts.
 
Wilkerson was one of four double-figure scorers for NJIT, followed by Chris Flores, who scored 13 and had a game-high six assists. Ryan Woods and Lamar Kearse added 10 points apiece.
 
Houston Baptist got 17 points from freshman Tyler Russell, while Jonathan Evans and Art Bernardi each collected 14 points for the Huskies.
 
NJIT, 14-16 with three straight wins, advances to face top seed and two-time defending regular season champion Utah Valley (9-1 GWC, 20-11 overall) in Friday's first semifinal game at noon (CST).
 
Houston Baptist, which had eliminated NJIT from each of the first two season-ending Great West Tournaments in 2010 and 2011, respectively, finishes its season at 10-20. The teams had split their two regular season meetings, with the Highlanders winning big in Newark, 85-62, and the Huskies prevailing in Houston, 75-68.
 
Thursday's rubber game was in doubt down to the closing seconds, as NJIT, up by eight points with 2:47 left and by five with 1:11 left, held on despite missing two front ends of one-and-one foul shooting opportunities in the closing 8.2 seconds.
 
Neither team had a lead of more than eight points at any time and there were six ties and seven lead changes. However, the Highlanders appeared to have surged at the right time, using a 9-2 run to turn a 45-44 deficit at the 10:14 mark into a 53-47 lead at 7:58.
 
The 9-2 spurt began with a jump shot for Woods that put NJIT ahead to stay, 46-45, with 9:50 left. Wilkerson followed with a jump shot and Flores made a steal and breakaway dunk for a five-point Highlander lead. Joe Latas broke the run on a put-back layup for the Huskies the next time down the floor, but Wilkerson nailed a three 13 seconds later, putting his team on top 53-47.
 
NJIT eventually stretched its lead to a game-high eight, 61-53, when Woods hit a 3-pointer just ahead of the final media timeout and the Highlanders lead was eight again, 63-55, when PJ Miller hit the first of two foul shots with 2:47 left.
 
However, the Highlanders, a solid free throw shooting team who connected on better than 70 percent of their tries in the regular season, made things difficult on themselves down the stretch Thursday, making just two of six at the line in the last 3:14, including the two misses on front ends of one-and-ones in the closing seconds.
 
After Miller gave NJIT its last eight-point lead, Flores blocked a shot by HBU's Russell, but the rebound went out of bounds and Russell used the second chance to score and cut the deficit to six.
 
On the other end, a jump shot by Flores went in and out and the Huskies pulled closer on a three from the top of the key for Evans with 1:45 remaining.
 
Wilkerson answered with a bucket near the end of the ensuing shot clock, but his score for a 65-60 lead with 1:11 left would be the final points of the day for NJIT.
 
Russell, the explosive freshman guard, hit a bank shot to pull the Huskies closer with 55 seconds remaining and then Evans made a steal on halfcourt defense with 18 seconds on the clock and Bernardi (6-for-9 from the field) hit a layup to get his team within a point, 65-64 with 11 ticks remaining.
 
The Highlanders got the ball inbounds and Woods, an 80 percent free throw shooter on the year (81 percent previously in his two-year career at Division II Pace) was fouled. However, he missed the front end of the one-and-one and Terry Bembry pulled the rebound for HBU.
 
The Huskies got the ball to Russell, but Woods, hustling back on defense after the miss, was there for the steal when Russell lost control near the top of the key.
 
The Huskies had no choice but to foul Woods with 1.9 seconds left. However, Woods' try on the front end missed again. But with HBU having used its last two timeouts to freeze Woods ahead of his two foul shots, could not manage a decent shot, as Latas, who got the rebound tossed the ball toward the other end of the court, but it fell harmlessly around half way to its target.
 
NJIT, which shot a season-low 27.7 percent from the field in its regular season finale, a 58-50 win over Chicago State, started slowly in its tournament opener, falling behind 10-2 when Houston Baptist's Anthony Hill drained a three 3:43 into the contest.
 
However, the Highlanders regained their footing, due in no small part to Kearse, the sophomore guard, who came off the bench and scored all 10 of his points before the half reached its midpoint.
 
It was a Kearse three that gave NJIT its first lead, 19-17, with 10:18 left in the opening half.
 
The Highlanders eventually went up by eight, 29-21, on two Wilkerson free throws, the only foul shots of the opening half for NJIT. But they would be the last points of the period for the Highlanders, who were scoreless over the last 5:06.
 
Houston Baptist crawled back and finally tied the score at 29 on an Evans layup with 1:16 on the first-half clock and that's the way the period ended.
 
Kearse and Bernardi shared game scoring honors a the break with 10 points apiece.  The Highlanders, who shot 33 percent from the field to HBU's 52.2 percent in the opening half, were helped by a combination of a 22-17 rebounding edge and 12 turnovers for the Huskies, who also hurt themselves with 3-for-9 foul shooting.
 
HBU shot 8-for-10 at the foul line in the second half, but the final turnovers were 20 for the Huskies to nine for NJIT, which translated to a 17-8 edge for the Highlanders in points off turnovers.
 
NJIT faces a tall order in Friday's semifinal matchup against Utah Valley, which owns an 11-1 lead in the all-time series between the programs, which began in 2006-07. The only Highlander win in the series came at home in the 2009-10 season.
 
The scores this year were 81-58 for Utah Valley in Utah on January 28. On February 9 in Newark, the teams played a double overtime thriller, with UVU prevailing, 99-97.