Box Score

NEW ORLEANS—Tulane dominated the rebounding and the scoring from the foul line in a 75-64 win for the Green Wave over NJIT Friday night in the men's basketball season opener for both teams in Tulane's Devlin Fieldhouse.

Tulane, 20-15 a season ago, outrebounded the visitors, 46-31, with most of the advantage coming a first half that saw the Green Wave hold a 24-10 lead on the boards. Most damaging to NJIT was allowing 13 first-half offensive rebounds to the home team, which translated into 15-1 bulge for Tulane in second-chance points when the overall halftime lead for Tulane was just 35-31.

The second half was much more manageable from NJIT's point of view, as Tulane's rebounds advantage was just 22-21 after the break and the Highlanders actually had more second-chance points, 6-2.

At the foul line, Tulane finished with a 21-3 scoring advantage in a game it won by 11. Overall,  Tulane shot 21-for-30 on free throws to 3-for-8 for NJIT. Some of that disparity rested on NJIT fouls when the Highlanders tried to gain rebounding position against the much bigger Green Wave lineup.

Each team had three double-figure scorers.

Tulane's 6-foot-3 junior Jay Hook led the way at 24 points, including five 3-pointers and a 9-for-10 night at the foul line. He also had 11 rebounds--5 on the offensive end. Burly 6-6 junior Tre Drye also had a double-double for the Green Wave, with 14 points and a game-best 15 rebounds (6 offensive). Freshman guard Jonathan Stark rounded out Tulane's double-figure scorers with 11 points to go with a game-high 7 assists and only one turnover in 37 minutes.

For NJIT, freshman Damon Lynn scored 21 in his college debut, making four 3-pointers and adding 4 assists, with a lone turnover in 38 minutes.

Lynn's 21 points marked the ninth time a freshman in NJIT's Division I era (began in 2006-07) scored as many as 20 points. Lynn is the fourth individual freshman to top 20 for NJIT in Division I. Chris Flores reached the 20s six times as a freshman in 2009-10, including the highest points total, with 26 vs. South Dakota near the end of the season on March 7. Isaiah Wilkerson was the first NJIT DI freshman to top 20 (24 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore on January 28, 2009).

Fellow newcomer Winfield Willis, a sophomore transfer who played a year at Clarion (PA), scored 10, as did sophomore Terrence Smith, who was limited to 18 minutes action by foul trouble. Smith was one of three Highlanders who fouled out, joined by Daquan Holiday (6 points, 9 rebounds) and freshman Tim Coleman.

Sophomore Nigel Sydnor finished with 8 points and 7 rebounds. Sophomore Ky Howard handed out 5 assists for NJIT.

Down just four points at halftime (35-31) in a game it probably should have led, NJIT's fate was likely sealed by a poor start of the second half.

The Highlanders, who moved the ball to great effect in the first half, had assists on 10 of their 13 baskets, a very high ratio, and they had only one turnover as a team in the entire first half.

By avoiding turnovers and finding open teammates, NJIT shot 13-for-25 (52 pct) from the field in the opening half. The beginning of the second half looked nothing like that, however.

The Highlanders committed turnovers on their first two second-half possessions and also took some ill-advised shots, helping Tulane jump out 13-2 in the opening 4:42 after intermission. That spurt resulted in the biggest lead of the night for the Green Wave, 48-33, with 15:18 to play, changing the tone from the nip-and-tuck first half.

NJIT would never get quite close enough after that, but the Highlanders resisted any ideas that they were finished for the night. With four of the eight men who appeared vs. Tulane making their Highlander debuts and just the junior Holiday past his sophomore year, the visitors showed a strong competitive will.

After going down 15, the Highlanders gradually whittled the deficit back to single-digits over the next 10-plus minutes, closing the gap to 59-50 on the freshman Coleman's only bucket of the night, a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the 4:29 mark.

NJIT further closed the gap to 56-50, when Sydnor delivered an old-school 3-point play with 2:59 remaining on a driving baseline layup and a foul shot. But that was it for the comeback.

Tulane responded with six straight points—four from Drye—putting the game completely beyond NJIT's grasp. Hook shot 4-for-4 at the foul line to lead Tulane's closeout 7-for-8 free throw shooting in the final 1:51.

Their inability to prevent multiple second chances for Tulane on the boards notwithstanding, the Highlanders went toe-to-toe on the scoreboard in the opening 20 minutes. They allowed the opening basket, a put-back, but then scored 5 unanswered points and did not trail again until a Drye dunk gave the Green Wave a 14-13 lead with 10:16 remaining in the half.

Tulane eventually went ahead 31-24 on Stark's triple with 2:58 on the first-half clock. But the Highlanders persisted and back-to-back hoops by Willis got them back within four. The Highlanders later got to within two, 33-31, on Sydnor's three with 1:23 left in the half.

NJIT, which plays its first five contests this season on the road, continues with a visit to UAlbany for a 7 pm on Tuesday in New York's capital city.