Game Highlights (Video)Jim Engles Postgame Interview
NEWARK, NJ-Michael Buchanan, USC Upstate's 6-foot-11, 250-pound junior center tipped an offensive rebound into the basket with 4/10 of a second remaining and the visiting Spartans nipped NJIT in the Atlantic Sun Conference men's basketball opener for both teams.
Buchanan finished with a season-best 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the floor and 2-for-4 at the foul line for Upstate, which won its fourth game in a row.
The Spartans, who start two freshmen and a sophomore, began the season with losses in their first seven games, but they have recovered to forge a 7-11 overall record.
After Buchanan, USC Upstate's three top scorers were freshmen Malik Moore (15 points), Mike Cunningham (11), and Deion Holmes (10).
NJIT, which played its first-ever game as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, is 9-8 overall, having dropped its last two games after winning three-of-four from December 20 through January 2.
Damon Lynn of the Highlanders was game-high scorer in defeat with 22 points. The junior sharpshooter connected on 6-of-12 3-point attempts, giving him 60 3-pointers through the season's first 17 games.
NJIT also got 19 points apiece from senior point guard
Ky Howard and junior forward
Tim Coleman. Howard scored 15 of his points in the opening half and Coleman who played just 6 first-half minutes due to foul trouble, scored 14 of his points in the second half. Howard added a game-high 7 assists.
The remaining Highlanders scored 18 combined points and USC Upstate's 27-14 advantage in bench points was a telling stat in the visitors' victory.
The game-winning basket for the Spartans came after an offensive rebound and the inability to control the defensive boards was a major problem all day for NJIT. There were 30 USC Upstate missed shots up for grabs and the Spartans came down with 16 of those misses to just 14 defensive rebounds for NJIT.
On the other end, the Highlanders got 11 offensive rebounds, a good total, but USC Upstate got 20 defensive rebounds for a ratio much closer to the norm. Upstate outscored NJIT on second-chance points, 17-12.
Buchanan and Moore shared the individual rebounds lead for the Spartans with 7 apiece, but Buchanan got 6 of his caroms on the offensive end. Coleman's 6 total rebounds topped the Highlanders.
NJIT led in the opening minutes, going up 8-5 after Lynn hit the first of his six 3-pointers for the day with 17:23 left in the first half. And the Highlanders were still on top, 13-11, when Upstate put up six straight points to take a lead it would hold for the final 14:31 of the first half.
When the half ended, the visiting Spartans had built a 46-33 advantage. Upstate got there largely on the strength of sizzling shooting-61.5 percent (16-for-26) from the floor, including 6-for-11 from downtown, and 8 of 9 at the free throw line.
NJIT, which made its early shots, cooled down as the half progressed and connected on just 34 percent (11-for-32) of its first-half tries. Included in that total was 7-for-23 on 3-point attempts.
The 13-point halftime deficit marked the fifth consecutive game NJIT has trailed at the half. The Highlanders came back for wins in two of the first four games in the streak, but things did not look good for them when Upstate scored the first two baskets of the second half to take what would the Spartans' biggest lead of the game, 50-33, with 19:02 remaining in the game.
NJIT cut into the deficit, but USC Upstate still led by 11, 64-53, near the midpoint of the half on a Buchanan layup with 10:24 on the clock.
The Highlanders responded with six unanswered points in a span of 2:33, before Buchanan, who would score 18 second-half points, got another layup, assisted by Moore, at the 6:18 mark.
NJIT kept coming, however, and down by six, the Highlanders got to free throws from Lynn, a 3-pointer from Lynn and then a 3-pointer from Coleman to take the lead for the first time since the opening minutes, 71-69, with 3:05 remaining.
However, another Spartan freshman, Jure Span responded with a deep 3-pointer from straight-on 24 seconds after Coleman had put the Highlanders ahead.
The teams continued going back-and-forth and the score was tied at 75 apiece after Howard's driving layup with 1:34 left.
Buchanan played a huge role in breaking the tie, coming down with an offensive rebound and then, when the NJIT defensive collapsed down on him, he kicked it outside to freshman teammate Cunningham, who fired the ball through from 3-point distance to put the visitors ahead 78-75 with just 38 seconds to play.
After a Highlander timeout, Lynn re-tied the score with a 3-pointer of his own and Upstate took timeout with 18 ticks on the game clock and the shot clock turned off.
The ensuing Spartan play resulted in a miss by freshman Josh Cuthbertson, but the big, strong Buchanan went above everyone to tip the ball back in with less than a half-second on the clock and NJIT threw the ball too far on the following inbounds play, as USC Upstate held on to spoil the A-Sun opener for the Highlanders.
NJIT which is playing only Atlantic Sun games the rest of the way, will take its first conference road trip next, visiting Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday at 7 pm and Stetson at 3:15 pm next Saturday.
