ESPN 3 Game Highlights (Video)

Play of the Game: Coleman Dunk (Video)

Smith and Coleman Postgame Comments (Video)

Engles Postgame Comments (Video)


NEWARK, NJ—NJIT got double-figure scoring from all five of its starters for a second game in a row and the Highlanders posted another convincing win Saturday afternoon, topping defending Patriot League champion Lafayette, 80-66, in non-conference men's basketball in the Fleisher Athletic Center.
 
Senior Ky Howard and junior Terrence Smith each scored 17 points to lead the Highlanders (3-1), who also got 16 points and a game and career-high 14 rebounds from junior Tim Coleman; 15 points from senior Winfield Willi,s and 11 points from junior Damon Lynn.
 
Lafayette (1-2) lost despite a career-best and game-high 26 points from senior forward Matt Klinewski. The 6-foot-8 Klinewski, whose previous game scoring high was 12, scored 17 of his points Saturday in the second half.
 
While Klinewski had a career scoring day, he was the only Leopard to reach double-digit points, as freshman Paulius Zalys was second on the Leopard scoring list with 7 points off the visitors' bench.
 
Historically a strong 3-point shooting team under Fran O'Hanlon, who coached his 600th game with Lafayette Saturday early in his 21st season at the helm, the Leopards were limited by NJIT to 3-for-14 from behind the arc, including 0-for-4 in the second half.
 
Lafayette came in having made a combined 18 triples in its first two games, a loss to George Washington and an overtime win against Saint Peter's. The Leopards also averaged 7.9 3-point field goals per game last season, when they won the Patriot League tournament to advance to the NCAAs.
 
NJIT, facing its most difficult slate of early-season opponents ever, has three impressive wins in going 3-1 over the new season's first eight days. The Highlanders opened with a loss at #2 Kentucky last Saturday night, but since then they have defeated South Florida from the high-major American Athletic Conference (60-57) in Tampa; Boston University at home (90-76) and now Lafayette.
 
The Highlanders trailed briefly after Monty Boykins made a 3-pointer on Lafayette's first possession. But NJIT answered with 12 straight points, capped by Osa Izevbuwa's driving layup 4:45 into the game. Howard had five points on a layup and a 3-pointer to lead the home team's rally.
 
Lafayette answered with a 7-0 run of its own, with Klinewski netting five of the points, closing the gap to 12-10 in a span of 66 seconds.
 
There were three later ties shortly past the midpoint of the opening half and the score was even at 22-22 when Lafayette's Bryce Scott connected on a jump shot with 8:36 left in the half.
 
NJIT dominated the remaining minutes of the opening period, however, outscoring the visiting Leopards 22-5 over the 8:28 ahead of the halftime horn to take a 44-27 lead into the locker room.
 
Coleman, Smith, and Howard all had 10 points apiece to top NJIT's first-half scoring, while Klinewski's 9  points were tops for Lafayette.
 
Showing no signs of panic at being down 17 points after 20 minutes of play, Lafayette went to work getting back into contention as soon as the second half started.
 
With Klinewski's five points leading the way, the Leopards began with an 8-2 run in the opening 3:23, pulling to within 11 points, 46-35.
 
Less than a minute later, the visitors began an 11-2 spurt that trimmed the NJIT advantage to 50-46 following a jump shot by Leopard Nathaniel Musters with a lot of time, 12:52, left in the game.
 
However, the Highlanders, who are 20-3 on Fleisher Family Court going back to February 6, 2014, with an eight-game home winning streak dating back to last season, had an answer when Lafayette threatened in Saturday's second half.
 
Willis hit a pair of free throws 40 seconds after the Musters bucket narrowed the NJIT lead to four points and those foul shots by the senior guard triggered a 12-1 rally, highlighted by a thunderous breakaway dunk for Coleman. The spurt restored the Highlander lead to 15 points at 62-47 with 8:09 left.
 
There was still enough time for a team with Lafayette's deep scoring ability to get back closer. However, NJIT kept its foot on the accelerator, building a 73-55 edge after a Damon Lynn layup with 3:20 remaining. That 18-point lead was a point shy of NJIT's biggest bulge of the day, when it had led by 19 after Ky Howard's 3-pointer made the score 44-25 with 1:23 remaining in the opening half.
 
Notes
--Next on the schedule is a 6:30 pm game Monday in Providence, RI, against the Friars of the Big East Conference. That game will be televised nationally on FS1, the national 24-hour, multi-sport cable channel owned by FOX Sports.
--In the only previous game between NJIT and Providence, the Friars pulled out a 64-63 victory in the 2012-13 season opener for both teams.
--Providence is 3-0 after beating hosts crosstown rival Brown on Saturday night.
--Tim Coleman's 14 rebounds matched his career high and were the most for a Highlander this season. He had 14 rebounds against NAIA Fisher as a freshman and his previous high vs. a Division I opponent was 11 in last seaaon's win over Canisius in the CIT quarterfinals.
--Saturday's 16-point, 14-rebound performance was the fourth double-double of Coleman's career
--After being outscored 87-57 in the opener at #2 Kentucky, NJIT, with wins in each of its last three games, has now outscored its opponents, 287-286 for the season.
--Terrence Smith, who missed all of 2014-15 with a foot injury, showed the form against Lafayette that had made him third in the nation with a .627 field goal percentage in 2013-14. Smith, who continues to round into his previous form, shot 6-for-7 from the field and 5-6 at the line on Saturday for 17 points.
--His buddy, Ky Howard, also scored 17, on 6-of-9 shooting (2-3 on 3-pointers) plus a game-high 7 assists against Lafayette.
--Damon Lynn's 11 points were his season low (averaged 21 points in the first 3 games), but he had 6 assists without a turnover in 39 minutes and his perimeter defense was a big factor in containing Lafeyette's long-range shooters.
--Senior Winfield Willis scored 13 of his 15 overall points in the second half.