Game Highlights (Video)

Co-Play of Game: Coleman (Video)

Co-Play of Game: Howard to Lynn (Video)

Engles Postgame (Video)


NEWARK, NJ—The outcome was still in serious question more than 31 minutes into NJIT's men's basketball game against visiting Boston University Thursday night. But the Highlanders pulled away down the stretch of their 90-76 non-conference win in front of a standing room only Fleisher Athletic Center crowd in NJIT's home opener.
 
The Highlanders, who won for the second time after an opening-night loss at #2 Kentucky last Saturday, got double-figure scoring out of all five starters, led by senior Ky Howard's season-best 20 points. The do-it-all 6-foot-4 point guard shot 7-for-11 from the field, including makes on both of his 3-point tries and 4-for-4 at the foul line. He also finished with 8 rebounds and a team-leading 6 assists.
 
Three other starters, junior guard Damon Lynn, junior forward Tim Coleman and senior guard Winfield Willis all finished with 17 points and junior forward Terrence Smith added 11 points in his third game back since missing all of 2014-15 with a stress fracture in his foot.
 
Coleman, another player who fills lots of columns in the box score, pulled down 6 rebounds and made a game-high 3 steals.
 
The victorious Highlanders got just 8 of their season-high 90 points from their bench players, but the reserves accounted for 21 of the team's 40 rebounds, led by junior Rob Ukawuba's game-high 9 boards.
 
Ukawuba had 4 assists without a turnover, as did the senior starter, Willis. In fact, with six players registering at least two assists apiece, NJIT was credited with assists on 21 of the 32 Highlander baskets.
 
Boston University falls to 1-2, having lost its opener to Boston archrival Northeastern and then won against three-time defending America East Conference champion UAlbany before absorbing the 90-76 defeat Thursday night.
 
The Terriers, a quality team, hung in largely on the strength of 14-for-27 shooting from 3-point distance. Game-high scorer John Papale, a senior guard, got 15 of his 21 points on 5-for-8 3-point shooting. Freshman guard Kyle Foreman, the reigning Patriot League Rookie of Week, who finished with 17 points, was 2-for-4 on threes, while senior big man Nathan Dieudonne hit both of his shots from downtown and Will Goff came off the bench for three triples.
 
For much of the game, BU's long-range accuracy was enough to keep NJIT from building a big lead, much less feel comfortable about it.
 
Leading 38-31 at the half, the Highlanders pushed their advantage to 52-40 less than four minutes into the second half after Smith made a layup with 16:07 left, capping a 6-0 surge.
 
Papale answered the Smith bucket with a 3-pointer. A later Papale jumper and a 3-pointer for BU's Cheddi Mosely pulled the Terriers to within six, 54-48, with 13:02 left.
 
NJIT pushed its lead back to 10 in short order, but the Terriers would not go away, using a 6-0 run capped by two Foreman free throws to get within two points, 60-58, with 8:38 left.
 
The Highlanders never let the lead get away completely, however, running off a 10-2 spurt for a 70-60 lead after Howard made two foul shots with 6:30 left.
 
BU never got closer than 7 after that and Howard hit a 3-point shot to trigger a 11-3 run that put NJIT ahead 81-66 with 3:28 remaining. Howard scored 7 in the decisive surge.
 
The biggest lead for the Highlanders was 16, at 84-68, when Lynn made a 3-point basket 2:03 from the end.
 
NJIT, which has won its last seven homes going back to last season when it was 15-2 on Fleisher Family Court, including 3-0 in the postseason CollegeInsider.com Tournament, is back home Saturday afternoon at 4 o'clock, when the Highlanders host defending Patriot League champ Lafayette.
 
The Leopards, who defeated NJIT 76-71 last December 28 in Easton, PA, are 1-1 in the new season, having lost at George Washington and won at home against Saint Peter's.
 
Notes
--NJIT commemorated its run to the 2015 CIT semifinals with a banner hung near the main scoreboard in pre-game ceremonies

--The full-house crowd of 1,488 marked the fourth straight sellout for NJIT going back to its three SRO crowds in CIT home games last March

--Thursday's game was the first all-time men's basketball meeting between the Highlanders and the Terriers

--NJIT head coach Jim Engles served as the top assistant to Boston University head coach Joe Jones for five seasons (2003-08) when Jones was head coach at Columbia. Engles went from being an assistant at Columbia to head coach at NJIT in 2008.