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WEST POINT, NY—NJIT did lots of good things throughout its men's basketball game at Army Friday night, but it was a strong finish that was the difference between winning and losing for the visiting Highlanders, who secured a hard-fought 89-85 victory that spoiled Army's home opener in Christl Arena.

NJIT, which won for the first time this season (1-2), got double-figure scoring from four starters, led by guard Damon Lynn, whose 27 points were game-high and also the most scored in a game by a Highlander freshman since the program began Division I competition in the 2006-07 season.

Joining Lynn as double-figure scorers were: sophomore Ky Howard (13 points), whose conventional 3-point play with 28 seconds left was arguably the biggest play when NJIT closed out the win; Terrence Smith (11 points); and, Nigel Sydnor (10).

Army (1-2), which had an all-sophomore starting lineup, had only two double-figure scorers—Kyle Wilson, the unanimous choice as 2012-13 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, who netted a career-best 26 points, and Josh Herbeck, who added 12, all on four first-half 3-pointers.

However, Coach Zach Spiker used 13 different players—10 for at least 12 minutes each—and 11 different Black Knights got into the scoring column.

The Highlanders, who were outrebounded in their two previous games starting the season, got the better of the much bigger Black Knights on the boards, pulling down 34 rebounds to 29 for Army. Freshman Tim Coleman's 6 rebounds paced the Highlanders, while sophomore Larry Toomey came off the Army bench for a game-high 7 boards in just 15 minutes of action.

Army led at the half, 50-46, in a 20-minute session that saw the Black Knights shoot 52 percent from the field overall (16-31) and make 9 first-half 3-point buckets, led by Herbeck's four long-range baskets (4-for-6). However, it wasn't just Herbeck, as five different Black Knights made 3-point shots, making it difficult for the Highlanders to key on any one deep shooter, especially with the Black Knights working the ball quickly and crisply, creating good looks from the outside.

For NJIT, Lynn, the freshman who has 62 points in his first college games (20.7 ppg), ended the opening half with 14 points, capped by an off-balance 3-pointer from NBA range, beating the halftime buzzer and sending NJIT into the locker room with a 4-point deficit instead of a 7-point one.

The Highlanders came out of the locker room on the attack, reversing what had been a problem in their two season-opening defeats.

They played poorly enough opening the second half at Tulane that it probably sealed their fate, despite continuing to battle, in what turned out to be a 75-64 loss. Next, a brief lapse allowed UAlbany to quickly erase a 4-point halftime NJIT lead in a game the Great Danes eventually won, 71-65.

The second half at Army was a different story. Having allowed the 9 first-half 3-pointers and an unacceptable 50 points in the opening half, NJIT quickly leveled the score at 50-50 on two Sydnor drives in the first 37 seconds out of the locker room.

Wilson, who would score 17 of his team's 35 second-half points, put the Black Knights back on top, 52-50, on a jump shot at 19:12, but Army would not make basket from the field until another Wilson score at 13:04.

The Black Knights made four free throws between the two Wilson buckets more than 6 minutes apart, but the lull between field goals created an opening for NJIT, which led 64-56 when Lynn scored a layup with 13:19 remaining.

The contest was far from decided, however, and Army tied the score, 69-69, on Matt Gramling's triple with 7:36 left,

There would be three more ties, the latest at 78-78 when Sydnor nailed two free throws for the Highlanders with 4:15 on the clock.

Neither team led by more than 3 points from the time of Gramling's tying 3-pointer at 7:36 all the way until the closing 28 seconds and the huge old-school 3-point play by NJIT's Howard.

With NJIT clinging to an 84-83 advantage and the shot clock under 10 seconds, Howard drove into the lane and scored on a layup and was knocked to the floor as the ball fell through for two points. Howard, who finished 6-for-9 at the foul line, made the ensuing free throw to give the Highlanders a two-possession advantage, 87-83.

Wilson missed a 3-point try on the other end of the floor and Howard went up to grab the big rebound and was fouled, earning two more free throws. Howard missed the first and made the second to put NJIT ahead by five with 16 seconds left.

Gramling answered with a layup for Army, but Sydnor hit the first of two free throws with 10 ticks to go and Herbeck, who did not score in the second half, missed his third 3-point try of the half and Smith pulled down the rebound for the Highlanders moments before the final buzzer sounded.

Lynn, who scored 27 at Army, is a dangerous scorer from the outside (three 3-pointers vs. Army and 11 total in his first three games), inside on drives, and at the foul line (8-for-9 Friday). Lynn is the new freshman scoring record-holder for points in NJIT's Division I era, which is in its eighth season.

The old freshman mark was 26, reached by Chris Flores against South Dakota on March 7, 2010. Flores, who graduated in May 2013 and is playing professionally in Germany, is NJIT's career scoring leader in the DI era, netting 1,724 points. Lynn's 27 points vs. Army were just one shy of the overall program record vs. a Division I opponent, a level that has been reached multiple times, including twice last year by Flores.

Lynn's performance will earn deserved attention. But two other freshmen made big impressions vs. Army.

Jake Duncan, who did not play in the opener at Tulane and had a cameo appearance at UAlbany, scored 9 points in 12 minutes at Army. Duncan, who rang up more than 2,000 points in high school in Virginia, got his first college points when he was fouled on a 3-point try and sunk all three foul shots in the first ha;f. He later drained a three in the second half and finished 4-for-5 on free throws.

Tim Coleman, a versatile forward who can both compete under the boards and also handle the ball in the middle on a fast break, gave the Highlanders a lift with his team-leading 6 rebounds and 8 points in 17 minutes off the bench.

NJIT, which is playing its first five games this season away from home, plays the fourth in that sequence on Sunday at 5 pm with a game at New Hampshire. Nearly a year ago, in the first-ever meeting between the programs, the Highlanders prevailed 69-67 in Newark on November 21, as Flores scored the game-winner with less than a second on the clock.