Game Notes (PDF)


HIGHLIGHTS:
•           With a win on Wednesday, NJIT will record its 11^th win – which would mark their third-highest, single-season total in the program's seventh year playing a Division-I schedule (NJIT won 10 games in 2009-10 before winning 15 in each of the past two campaigns).
•           With a win on Wednesday, NJIT will be over .500 through 21 games of a season for the first time in its D-I era. The only other time the Highlanders were above .500 deeper into a season was in 2010-11, when they went 13-12 on Feb. 19 (and later 14-13 and 15-14).
•           NJIT attempts to stay undefeated against non-Division-I teams, having gone 14-0 in its D-I era and 3-0 this season. They received one scare in a 65-57 edging of St. Joseph's NY during the 2010-11 season.
•           Take out four games against BIG EAST competition and three against Division III opponents, and NJIT is 7-6 – with 10 games determined by five or fewer points.
•          NJIT leads the GWC in many key categories: scoring offense (70.1 ppg) and defense (65.2 ppg), FG percentage defense (.379), three-point FG percentage defense (.309), rebounding margin (+3.1) and blocked shots (5.5 bpg).
•          Senior G Chris Flores needs just six points to pass Isaiah Wilkerson (1,577) and become NJIT's all-time leading scorer in the D-I era.


NEWARK, NJ -- The Highlanders will try to become the only Great West Conference team with an above .500 record when NJIT hosts NAIA member Fisher (MA) College on Wednesday. NJIT (10-10, 2-0) has never lost to a non-Division-I member during its own D-I era, going 14-0 since 2006-07 and 3-0 this season. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at Fleisher Athletic Center.

So far this year, NJIT has defeated Division-III programs Eastern Nazarene, Lyndon State and City College of New York by an average of 39.0 points per game. In fact, the Highlanders have posted an average margin of victory of 36.9 ppg in their 14 such match-ups all-time.

Now, Fisher College (7-16) will face a team that is coming off a very impressive home conference win on Saturday – as NJIT nearly led from start to finish in a 64-51 victory over Texas-Pan American in a battle for first place in the GWC.

After falling behind 2-0 to the Broncs, the Highlanders went on a 10-0 run starting with a three-pointer by senior F Ryan Woods at 19:04 that put them ahead for good.

A pleasant sign for the Highlanders was their ability to win despite just 18 points from the duo of senior G Chris Flores (10) and Woods (8) – who rank as the top two scorers in the GWC. The balanced attack on Saturday was led by the team's two point guards, as senior G PJ Miller netted 13 points and freshman G Ky Howard tallied a D-I career-high 12 points. Sophomore F Daquan Holiday also finished in double figures with 10 points.

But the more telling sign for Head Coach Jim Engles' troops was the play on defense. The Broncs entered the game with both the second-best field-goal percentage and three-point field-goal percentage in the conference yet were held to just 39.2 (20-for-51) and 22.2 (4-for-18), respectively. NJIT outrebounded UTPA, 38-28, while forcing 19 turnovers and holding the second-ranked scoring offense in the conference to 51 points.

Not so surprising, the Highlanders are 5-0 when they keep an opponents to 52 points or less.

A win over Fisher College would give NJIT back-to-back wins and some momentum prior to a conference road game at Houston Baptist (6-14, 0-3) on Saturday – which would be helpful as the Highlanders have gone just 1-3 all-time at Sharp Gymnasium.

This season, NJIT has lost all three of its games following a win over a non-Division-I team. However, all three came on the road -- and two were against BIG EAST opponents (St. John's, Villanova). In fact, the team is just 2-12 over the last four seasons following such games; but one of the two wins came against the Huskies last season.

The Highlanders are led by Flores, who continues to lead the league in scoring at 17.0 ppg. In fact, he's averaging 20.2 ppg over his past five games. The preseason GWC Player of the Year selection also paces the conference in steals (2.3 spg) while ranking sixth in assists (2.8 apg).

Woods, a preseason All-GWC Second-Team selection, is second in the league in scoring at 14.5 ppg. The Staten Island native tops the GWC in three-pointers made per game (3.1) and is second in three-point marksmanship (.412).

Miller, who set a program record with nine assists on Jan. 12, ranks second in the GWC in both helpers (4.0 apg) and steals (1.9 spg). After scoring 13 points just three times in his first three seasons (83 games), the native of Fort Washington, Md., has registered at least 13 points in six of his last eight games – including a career-high 15 points at New Orleans on Jan. 21.

With significant injuries in the frontcourt to both freshman F Terrence Smith (left foot) and junior F Quentin Bastian (left ankle) – both sidelined since mid-December – Holiday has stepped up with major contributions. The 6-7 forward has averaged 6.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg and 2.2 bpg over his last 12 affairs, including a program record 17 rebounds vs. Chicago State on Jan. 12.

The team did receive good news this week on the two injured players, as both Smith and Bastian have shed their walking boot and have begun basketball activities. The Highlanders are hoping to have both back on the court in early February.

According to the up-to-date 2013 Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings, NJIT has an RPI of 263.


NATIONAL CONVENTION
In Division I rankings through Sunday, Highlanders rank 11^th in the nation in rebounding (41.0 rpg), 18^th in blocks per game (5.5), 19^th in FG percentage defense (.309) and 22nd in steals per game (9.3)… Individually, senior F Ryan Woods ranks 17^th in the nation in three-pointers made per game (3.1) and 37^th in three-point accuracy (.426). Senior G Chris Flores sits 31^st in the nation in steals per game (2.3) and 82^nd in points per game (17.0).
 
DYNAMIC DUO
Senior G Chris Flores (17.0 ppg) and senior F Ryan Woods (14.5) rank first and second in the GWC in scoring, respectively. Their combined average of 31.5 ppg is 4.4 ppg more than the next tandem – as UVU's Ben Aird (14.1) and Holton Hunsaker (13.0) total 27.1 ppg… In the brief four-year history of the GWC, no pair of teammates has shared the top two scoring spots in the rankings. The highest two duos have been HBU's Andrew Gonzalez (22.9) and Michael Moss (10.0) who combined for 32.9 ppg in 2010-11 and Gonzalez (18.0) and Mario Flaherty (13.8) who combined for 32.7 ppg in 2009-10… South Dakota's Charlie Westbrook (16.2) and Louie Krogman (14.8) were the only other tandem to average more than 30.0, amassing 31.0 ppg in 2010-11.


FISHER PRICE TAGS:

Fisher College is located on Beacon Street in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. The Falcons compete as one of 13 independents in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division II after finishing in fifth place of the now defunct American Mideast Conference. Although their record was just 10-20 in 2011-12, the team posted a more impressive 8-6 record over its final 14 games.

The Falcons arrive in Newark off the heels of a 98-68 rout over Paul Smith's (NY) College on Sunday. The win snapped Fisher's six-game losing streak which included a 95-49 loss at UTPA on Jan. 12. This will actually be their third and final game against an NCAA D-I opponent, as the Falcons also played and lost at University of Maine (97-42) on Dec. 6.

Fisher started the season at 3-0 and won four of its first five contests before suffering the first of its pair of six-game skids. The team has gone winless in seven tries on the road this season and hasn't won as a visitor in over a fiscal year – going 0-10 since an 83-81 victory at Fitchburg (MA) State on Jan. 11, 2012.

Interestingly, the Falcons' roster consists of 17 players from 11 different states – including New York native Chris Green, who previously played at NIA Prep in Newark. Green, a 6-3 sophomore forward, is averaging 7.4 ppg and 3.0 rpg.

Senior F Ryan McCorkle, a native of Bellevue, Wash., leads the Falcons in both scoring (12.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg).

Freshman G Tyler Shular is second on the team in scoring at 11.9 ppg while blazing at 39.4 percent (37-for-94) from downtown. Freshman C Dana Hines leads Fisher in blocks (1.2 bpg) and ranks second in rebounding (4.6 rpg) while contributing 6.0 ppg.

The Falcons shoot well collectively from beyond the arc at 34.8 percent and have held their own on the glass with a -0.4 rebounding margin. However, they've averaged nearly 20 turnovers per game and own a -3.8 turnover margin.

Head Coach David Lindberg, who is in his seventh year guiding the Falcons, led the Fisher to back-to-back, 20-win seasons (22 in 2008-09; 25 in 2009-10) -- the only two in programs history. During the 2009-10 campaign, the Falcons strung together a nation-best, 20-game winning streak. The son of a four-time Maine State Coach of the Year, Lindberg arrived in Boston after serving as a media relations intern with the San Antonio Spurs.


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. Coverage begins at 7:15 p.m. with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.


Write-up courtesy of Matt Provence