Brian Kennedy Preview (Video)

NJIT Game Notes


LOGAN, UT -- NJIT (1-0) will look for their first 2-0 start since 2006-07 when they head west to battle the Utah State Aggies (1-0) on Monday night. Tip-off from the Dee Glen Spectrum is set for 6 p.m. (8 p.m. EST).
 
The Highlanders are coming off a 100-38 win over Sarah Lawrence College (NY) on Friday at Fleisher Athletic Center, while Utah State picked up a 72-56 road win in its opener at UC Irvine.
 
During the afore-mentioned 2-0 start, NJIT began their Division I tenure in 2006-07 with back-to-back wins over Manhattan and Rider.
 
Matt Provence, the voice of the Highlanders, will be on the call begining with the pregame show at 7:45 p.m. EST. The broadcast can be accessed for free at www.njithighlanders.com or by clicking here.
 

ALL-TIME SERIES
 
Monday marks the first ever meeting with Utah State and the first game against an opponent from the Mountain West Conference (MWC). However, NJIT is 2-8 all-time in the state of Utah -- all at the UCCU Center in Orem, home of former Great West Conference rival Utah Valley. That said, the Highlanders emerged victoriouly in their last game in the state -- a 57-52 over the Wolverines on Jan. 5, 2013. 
 

ONE FOR THE AGGIES
 
Senior Jalen Moore, widely considered an NBA prospect, scored 22 points and helped lift the Aggies to the 72-56 victory over UC Irvine on Friday while three other players also scored in double figures.
 
In that contest, head coach Tim Duryea's squad held the Anteaters to just 29.5% shooting from the floor.
 
Utah State finished 16-15 (7-11 MWC) in 2015-16 and was picked to finish sixth in the Mountain West preseason poll. Moore was named to the All-Mountain West preseason team and freshman Koby McEwen was selected as the Co-MWC Freshman of the year.
 
McEwen had 11 points and five rebounds in his collegiate debut.
 
Moore's father and brother, Jimmy and Grayson, also played basketball for the Aggies. Jimmy is a member of the USU Athletics Hall of Fame and currently serves as the Assistant Athletics Director for Special Projects.
 
Duryea is in his second season at the helm of the Aggies after serving for 14 seasons as an assistant under former head coach Stew Morrill. Morrill retired at the end of the 2014-15 season with a record of 384-143 (.729) and is the winningest coach in school history. In his 15 seasons at Utah State, Duryea has been part of an Aggie program that has averaged 23.1 wins per season, advanced to the NCAA Tournament six times (2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011), and won five conference championships in the Big West (2003) and Western Athletic Conferences (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011), while winning four conference tournament titles in the Big West (2003, 2005) and WAC (2009, 2011).
 
There is an international flavor on the Utah State squad as the roster features players from four different countries: Diego Brito (Portugal), Alexis Dargenton (France), Norbert Janicek (Slovakia) and McEwen (Canada).

Utah State joined the MWC in 2013 after participating in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) from 2005-12. As of Fall 2015, there were 28,622 total students enrolled in the university. With nearly 18,000 students living on or near campus, USU is the largest public residential campus in Utah. 

 
NJIT OUTLOOK 
 
In the 100-38 win over Sarah Lawrence on Friday, all 13 players that saw action scored at least two points and senior guard Damon Lynn set the school's Division I scoring record.
 
Lynn scored a game-high 14 points and hit 4-of-7 from beyond the arc while dishing out a team-high six assists. Fellow seniors Tim Coleman and Rob Ukawuba chipped in with 12 points and eight points, respectively as part of the balanced offensive effort.
 
Head Coach Brian Kennedy's freshman class made major contributions in the season opener as the quartet of Ron Alston, Shyquan Gibbs, Taj Price and Anthony Tarke combined to register 34 points and 25 rebounds.
 
In fact, Tarke became the first Highlander ever to record a double-double in his NCAA debut (13 points, 10 rebounds). The Gaithersburg, Md., native is the fifth freshman ever to accomplish the feat and the first since Coleman on Feb. 22, 2014.
 
The Highlanders' stifling defense held Sarah Lawrence to 22.7% shooting from the field and forced 23 turnovers.
 
One of the feel good moments of the night came in the final minute of the game as junior James McMillon scored his first career points to put an exclamation point on the victory.

Since Dec. 30, 2014, the Highlanders boast an impressive 37-18 (.673) record.
 
 
Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry