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Men's Basketball

Flores, Howard Help NJIT Hold on to First Place in Comeback at Chicago State

The Two Guards Combined for 13 of the Highlanders' Final 18 Points in a 63-58 Victory

Senior G Chris Flores scored nine of his team-leading 16 points in the second half. He finished the game 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.

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CHICAGO, IL – Senior Chris Flores scored nine of his team-high 16 points in the final 6:52 of the game, helping NJIT erase a five-point deficit for a 63-58 road victory over Chicago State at Jones Convocation Center on Saturday. The win, coupled with a UTPA loss at Utah Valley late Saturday, enabled the Highlanders (13-11, 4-1) to move back into sole possession of first place in the Great West Conference.

The victory also marked the Highlanders' third consecutive season sweep over the Cougars (7-17, 2-3), as NJIT is now 6-0 against Chicago State since dropping a contest on March 6, 2010, in the Windy City.

The Highlanders have now won back-to-back road games – culminating a road swing that encompassed more than 5,000 miles, two time zones and three states (Texas, New York, Illinois) all within nine days.

Freshman G Ky Howard finished one rebound shy of his first career double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds and sophomore F Odera Nweke was NJIT's other double-digit scorer with 10 points and six rebounds.

Senior F Jeremy Robinson led all scorers with 20 points before fouling out within the final minute. He also contributed six rebounds, three assists and a game-high five blocks. Junior G Quinton Pippen finished with 18 points for the second straight game against the Highlanders.

The Highlanders had led most of the game, but back-to-back three pointers by Pippen in a 19-second span provided the home team a lead – and a game-high, five-point lead -- at 53-48 with 6:18 remaining. The nephew of NBA Hall-of-Famer Scottie Pippen also hit a trey to put the Cougars ahead late in the second half of the first meeting in Newark.

After a 30-second timeout by Head Coach Jim Engles at 6:07, the Highlanders responded with a 12-0 run, holding the Cougars scoreless for the next 4:58 to build up a 60-53 lead with 1:29 left to play.

The run started with a layup by Howard, who sliced down the lane and scored with an acrobatic finished. The Philadelphia native tallied four of his points during the run while Flores had six – including five straight points that put the Highlanders up 57-54 with 4:03 to go.

Flores finished a perfect 4-for-4 from deep – 11 days after going a perfect 7-for-7 from beyond the arc against Fisher College.

Chicago State cut the lead back to five on a Robinson layup with 1:20 to go, but the game was all but sealed when Nweke drained a pair of free-throws with 45 seconds remaining to put NJIT back up by seven. Earlier in the game, Nweke nailed a pair of clutch free throws that tied the score at 45-45 with 9:40 to go.

Although neither team came out shooting particularly well (NJIT started 3-for-12, CSU started 2-12), the Highlanders tried to take control of the game following the second media time out. Down 9-8 with 10:40 remaining in the first half, Flores connected on back-to-back treys that sparked a 9-0 run. The other basket in the spurt was recorded on a three-pointer by sophomore G Nigel Sydnor, who finished with all eight of his points in the first half.

But Chicago State stormed right back and eventually took their last lead of the first half on a steal and breakaway dunk by junior G Nate Duhon, putting the Cougars up, 23-21.

It was a short-lived advantage, however, as Sydnor connected on his second long-range bomb 28 seconds later to put NJIT out in front for good in the half. In fact, the Highlanders' lead ballooned to a game-high, nine-point lead on two free throws by Howard that sent the teams to the locker rooms with NJIT leading, 35-26.

Despite the halftime deficit, the Cougars wouldn't go away. Chicago State started the second stanza on an 11-2 run to tie the game and eventually outscored NJIT, 27-13, in the first 13:42 of the second half before the Highlanders made their game-winning comeback.

NJIT held Chicago State to shooting just 36.7 percent (35.7 percent from three) while connecting on 43.2 percent overall and 46.7 percent from downtown. The Highlanders also out-rebounded the Cougars, 38-28, with a 10-7 edge on the offensive glass.

However, the home team was able to stay in the game by forcing 19 turnovers. Yet, in credit to the Highlanders, only five of their turnovers occurred in the final 16:23 of regulation.

At 13-11, the Highlanders are two games above .500 the latest they've ever been during a season. In fact, it's just the third time they've ever beed two games up in their D-I era. NJIT started 2-0 in its very first season of transition (2006-07) and began 4-2 this season.

As of Sunday morning, the Highlanders continued to soar up some of the most respected rankings system in NCAA basketball. Among the 347 D-I programs, NJIT ranks 197 according to Basketball State, 225 in to ESPN's BPI, 243 in the Pomeroy College Basketball Rankings and 274 in the Sagarin Ratings.

After playing nine games in the past 29 days – including these three road games in the last eight games – the Highlanders will now have a week off to get ready for a home bout against conference rival Utah Valley next Saturday.

Whereas it will be just the first home game from the Highlanders in February, they will be at Fleisher Athletic Center for three of their last four regular-season games.


Write-up Courtesy of Matt Provence

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