NJIT Men's Basketball Gameday Information NEWARK, NJ—--NJIT is aiming for its 17th win when it hosts Sarah Lawrence Saturday at 2:30 pm in the Fleisher Athletic Center. Highlander seniors
Daquan Holiday and
Odera Nweke will be honored in pre-game ceremonies.
A victory Saturday would mark the first time NJIT has won more than 16 games in a season since moving up to Division I in 2006-07. The 2012-13 Highlanders finished 16-13, the best previous mark in the Division I era. That team won the regular season title in the old Great West Conference.
With 106 3-pt field goals (most in the nation in Division I) and 104 assists,
Damon Lynn of the Highlanders is poised to break two program Division I records—his own for 3s (made 107 as a freshman last season) and
Ky Howard's record 105 assists (also set last season).
Both teams in Saturday's game will be coming off long layoffs. NJIT last played on February 16 and Sarah Lawrence, which wraps up the season with its first-ever game against a Division I opponent when it visits NJIT, has not played since February 19.
A bit about the Sarah Lawrence Gryphons:Located in Westchester County, NY, Sarah Lawrence is a private liberal arts college with an excellent academic reputation … In athletics, Sarah Lawrence played its first varsity basketball game 2000-01 and is on track to become a full member of the NCAA in September … A Gryphon is a mythological creature depicted as having the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.
Chris Ehmer, in his third season, is the program's first full-time head coach and he led the team to its best varsity record ever (10-14) in 2013-14 … NJIT has played a Sarah Lawrence team before (Dec. 13, 1980 when NJIT was in Division III and Sarah Lawrence had a club team; the NCAA does not recognize it as an official result since Sarah Lawrence was not a varsity team).
A glance at the current SLC roster reveals a young group, with seven first-year students and eight sophomores on the squad. … The team has players from four foreign countries and from seven of the United States.
Sarah Lawrence team stats and leaders:Scoring (team 52.5 ppg):
Graham Gilleran (6-8, So.; 7.5 ppg);
Jeff Jordan II (6-3, So; 7 ppg).
Rebounding (team 35.1 rpg):
Stevan Radosavljevic (6-5, So, 4.4 rpg);
Gilleran (4.3 rpg)
Assists: Keith Burns ((5-8, FY, 37)
Blocks: Gilleran (15)
Steals:
Gilleran (15)
About seniors Daquan Holiday and Odera Nweke:Both men are 4-year members of the Highlanders and a good deal of their playing time this season has been in the post, where they essentially share the '5' spot. Holiday has started 26 of the 27 games and Nweke started the game Holiday didn't. Nweke, like Holiday, has played in all 27 games for the 16-11 Highlanders and their minutes played are nearly identical (483 for Holiday and 462 for Nweke).
Combined this season, they are giving NJIT 8.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, plus 60 blocked shots.
Holiday has played in 98 career games, with 44 starts. His 124 career blocked shots are second-most in NJIT's Division I era and he is the program Division I single-game record holder for most rebounds in a game (17 vs. Chicago State on January 12, 2013).
Earlier this season Daquan secured his place in NJIT basketball history with three huge plays in the closing seconds of the monumental 72-70 upset win at #17/#16 Michigan,
First, he grabbed an offensive rebound of an NJIT miss on a try that came with the shot clock expiring, and he was fouled. With 4.3 seconds remaining, Holiday sank both ends of a one-and-one free throw opportunity to give the Highlanders a 72-69 lead.
Next, Michigan's Kameron Chatman was fouled with 2.6 seconds on the clock, Chatman made the first free throw and then intentionally missed the second, hoping his team could score off of the rebound to tie the score. But Holiday spoiled the strategy by securing his team-leading sixth rebound, securing the stunning upset victory in the process.
Odera Nweke appeared in 12 games, all off the bench as a freshman. In 2012-13, he saw action in 27 games, with two starts for NJIT's Great West Conference champions. In the process, he was a finalist for GWC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Listed as a probable starter ahead of the season opener his junior year, he was injured and completely missed the first seven games. Even when he came back, he was slowed once he returned to playing and did not see extended game action until the middle of January and started the final 12 games.
This season, he came back looking much like the player he was in his promising sophomore season. He scored a career-high 16 points vs. Maine in the home opener and had 8 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocked shots at Marquette on November 24. Later, he had 8 points and 4 rebounds vs. #7 Villanova.
Matt Provence will provide play-by-play on the here on
www.njjthighlanders.com. Programming is scheduled to begin at least 15 minutes before tipoff.
