Game Notes (PDF)


HIGHLIGHTS:
•   At 14-11, NJIT is three games above .500 for the first time in the program's Division-I era and for the first time since ending a D-II season at 18-11 in 2002-03.
•   With a win, NJIT will tie the program's D-I record for wins in a season with 15 (2010-11, 2011-12).
•   With a win, NJIT will record a program-record, sixth victory against a non-conference D-I opponent.
•   With a win, NJIT will have its longest winning streak of the season (Nov. 21-27; Jan. 5-14) and its first four-gamer since 2/25/12-3/9/12 – a span which included two GWC Tournament games. The only longer win streak in NJIT's D-I history was a program-record six-gamer, 2/1/11-2/19/11.
•   NJIT has a magic number of one to clinch its first-ever Great West Conference regular-season title.
•   Since Jan. 8, 2011, NJIT has an overall record of 42-33 (.560).
•   NJIT leads the GWC in many key categories: scoring offense (70.8 ppg) and defense (64.4 ppg), FG percentage defense (.378), 3PT FG percentage defense (.316), 3PT FG percentage (.381), rebounding margin (+3.7) and blocked shots (5.2 bpg).


NEWARK, NJ – After another week in between games, the red-hot Highlanders will look to avenge arguably their most frustrating loss of the season when they host University of New Orleans in a rematch on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at Fleisher Athletic Center.

NJIT (14-11, 5-1) has won three consecutive games and has posted an 8-3 record since Jan. 5. In fact, the Highlanders have reeled off victories in five of six since the heart-wrenching, 96-94 triple-overtime loss against the Privateers (8-14) at Lakefront Arena on Jan. 21. NJIT's only loss during this recent stretch was a 66-57 road defeat at Houston Baptist on Feb. 2.

Including the NJIT game, New Orleans has emerged victorious in four of its last six games. However, two of the wins were against non-Division-I teams -- Champion Baptist (ACCA) and Central Baptist (NAIA).

In the front end of the home-and-home series, Junior G Isaac Mack drained a step-back, 13-foot jumper from the left baseline with 2.6 seconds left in triple overtime to provide New Orleans with the game-winner. His second basket in eight tries in the game ended a wild ride that featured 16 lead changes, three overtime periods and several improbable comebacks.

In fact, the Highlanders built up a six-point lead inside of the final minute of regulation when senior F Ryan Woods nailed a three-pointer to put NJIT up, 64-58, with 0:56 on the clock. NJIT also held a four-point lead, 77-73, with 18 seconds left in the first overtime.

But several clutch shots by senior F Lovell Cook and a few questionable foul calls help guide the home team to an improbable victory.

Cook led all scorers with a career-high 32 points – including a three-pointer that was banked in from 25 feet when UNO was down four points with 9.9 seconds to go in the first OT. He then sent the contest into a second extra session when he nailed a 14-footer from beyond the right elbow with just two seconds on the clock. He finished the contest 12-for-22 from the floor.

The Highlanders were led in scoring by Woods, who scored his then-Division-I career-high 24 points while tying his career-high with eight rebounds. Senior G Chris Flores finished with 22 points and senior G PJ Miller set a career-high with 15 points.

This time around, the Highlanders will look for payback on their home court – where they've gone 10-3 this season. Meanwhile, the Privateers are winless (0-9) on the road.

With a win, NJIT will set a season-high with a four-game winning streak while notching its 15^th victory of the season – tying the program's D-I record it set and tied in the past two campaigns, respectively. In fact, a win will also clinch a final record above .500 for its first time in the D-I era and since the D-II Highlanders finished 18-11 in 2002-03.

Further, with a Chicago State win at home against Texas Pan-America on Saturday, NJIT will clinch its first-ever GWC regular-season title.

The Highlanders maintained their momentum their last time out in a 63-55 home win over Utah Valley (13-14, 2-4) – also after going a week without a game. The victory gave the Highlanders their first-ever series sweep over the Wolverines in seven tries of the annual home-and-home series. With Utah Valley heading to the WAC for the 2013-14 seasons, it could have been the last time the two GWC rivals will have ever met.

NJIT led from start to finish, holding the GWC's leading team in field-goal percentage to just 18-for-51 (.346) overall and 0-for-9 from downtown. The Highlanders also held a stark advantage in bench scoring, 20-2.

Woods paced NJIT with 14 points and seven rebounds while senior G PJ Miller (13 points) and Flores (12 points) were both in double figures. Flores also set a new personal career high with seven assists, while playing all 40 minutes.

Flores leads the GWC in scoring at 17.1 ppg, which ranks 80th in the nation among 1828 qualifiers. The preseason GWC Player of the Year selection also leads the conference in steals at 2.3 spg, which ranks 20th in the nation. A native of Dorchester, Mass., Flores finished with 22 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals in the first meeting with the Privateers.

Flores will be playing in his 118^th game as a Highlander, breaking the program's D-I record for career games currently held by Ryan Regis '12.

Woods, a preseason All-GWC Second-Team selection, is third in the league in scoring at 14.4 ppg. The Staten Island native tops the GWC in three-pointers made per game (3.0), which ranks 14th in the nation, and is third in three-point marksmanship (.411), placing 35th nationally. He has already set NJIT's D-I single-season record for 3PT made (76) passing Chris Flores (62; 2011-12).

Miller, who leads the GWC in assists-to-turnover ratio (+1.5) and is third at 3.7 assists per game, has really picked up his scoring pace. 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 eight of his last 13 games.

According to the up-to-date 2013 Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings, NJIT has an RPI of 241 while New Orleans is at 346. The Highlanders have moved up to 169 in Basketball State's rankings and 226 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index (BPI).


PRIVATE STOCK:

The Privateers are one of only two independent teams in the D-I ranks (Cal State Bakersfield). However, University of New Orleans should be very excited with the direction of the program.

After the Privateers seemed destined for a downgrade to first a Division-III classification -- then later to a more to Division-II athletics, UNO president Peter Fos reached an agreement in August to become a member of the Southland Conference beginning in 2013-14. For the time being, it appears the storied athletics program (six NIT and four NCAA Tournament appearances) has been saved after struggling to stay afloat in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Now, the Privateers are hoping to finish strong this season. New Orleans has gone 4-3 in its last seven affairs – but enters Saturday off the heels of an 87-56 loss at Bowling Green (11-15) on Thursday.

In that game, the Privateers shot just 37.0 percent and finished -12 in rebounds (46-34) and -9 in turnovers (17-8).

Junior F Cory Dixon led New Orleans with a team-high 14 points -- marking his fifth straight contest in double-figures. The team's leading rebounder (5.1 rpg) is averaging 14.2 ppg and 6.6 rpg during this recent span. Against NJIT, Dixon fouled out with six points, five rebounds and seven turnovers in 25 minutes.

The team's leading scorer, senior F Lovell Cook, was held to just eight points (4-for-12) and zero rebounds in 17 minutes against the Falcons – snapping a streak of 10 consecutive contests with a double-digit point total. Cook, who netted a career-high 32 against the Highlanders the first time around, averages 15.0 ppg while shooting .551 from the floor – a field-goal percentage that ranked 24^th in the nation at the start of the week.

Senior G Rarlensee Nelson is the team's second-leading scorer at 9.8 ppg and posts a team-leading 6.9 assists per game – an impressive figure that ranked the 5-8 point guard ninth in the nation at the start of the week. The native of Ville Platte, La., has three more games and needs 20 more assists to break UNO's single-season assist record of 178, set by Jimmie Nelson in 1994-95.

Nelson recorded a double-double (12 points, 11 assists) against the Highlanders on Jan. 21.

The Privateers rank 331^st in the nation in scoring defense by allowing 75.8 ppg – but that after playing a difficult schedule that has featured road losses at Butler, Mississippi State Boise State, Southern Illinois, Duquesne and Air Force.

Just four of their wins are against Division-I teams, but two are against the GWC members (NJIT, UTPA). Their only loss to a GWC came in a 75-68 home defeat to Houston Baptist on Feb. 9. UNO's remaining two games are the road portions of its home-and-home series with HBU and UTPA.


Write-up courtesy of Matt Provence