NJIT Game Notes (PDF)

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NEWARK, NJ -- The Highlanders (2-2) will kick off the Cancun Challenge with a Tuesday afternoon matinee against Georgia State (1-2). Opening tip from the Hard Rock Riviera Maya Hotel in Cancun is slated for 12:30 p.m.
 
Last time out, NJIT rallied to top Colgate 74-68 while Georgia State held the lead for the majority of the game before falling victim to a late 20-0 run in a 64-56 loss to No. 15/17 Purdue.
 
The game can be seen on YouTube Live by clicking here.
 
Matt Provence, the voice of the Highlanders, will be on the call beginning with the pregame show at 12:15 p.m. The broadcast can be accessed for free at www.njithighlanders.com or by clicking here.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
 
Tuesday will mark the first ever meeting between the Highlanders and the Panthers.
 
However, NJIT is 2-0 all-time against Sun Belt Conference foes with wins over UT-Arlington in the 2016 CIT Quarterfinals and a victory over South Alabama during the 2014-15 season.
 
Georgia State spent 21 years as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference from 1984-2005. Following their departure from the league, the Panthers spent time in the CAA before officially joining the Sun Belt on July 1, 2013
 
GEORGIA (STATE) ON MY MIND
 
Georgia State held a 56-44 lead over Purdue with 7:12 to play on Friday before the Boilermakers finished the game on the afore-mentioned 20-0 run en route to the 64-56 victory.
 
Senior forward Jeremy Hollowell led the way for head coach Ron Hunter's squad with 19 points in the loss, while freshman guard D'Marcus Simonds added 13 points off the bench.
 
Hollowell-who was named to the All-Sun Belt Preseason Second Team-is averaging 19.3 ppg this season for the Panthers while senior Justin Seymour (11.0 ppg) and sophomore Jeff Thomas (10.0 ppg) also average in double figures.
 
Hunter is in sixth season as the head coach at Georgia State and has produced a 104-63 mark (.623). The 104 wins leave him just three shy of tying the school's all-time record of 107 wins.
 
Prior to taking over the Georgia State program in 2011-12, Hunter spent 17 seasons as the head man at IUPUI where he is the school's all-time winningest coach and led the Jaguars to their only NCAA Tournament appearance in 2003.
 
Georgia State burst onto the national scene in March of 2015 with a 57-56 upset victory over No. 3 seed Baylor in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. In that contest, the Panthers trailed 56-44 with less than three minutes left before closing the game on a 13-0 run which was capped by a three-pointer from Hunter's son, R.J. to give GSU the lead with 2.8 seconds left.
 
R.J. was the two-time Sun Belt Player of the Year and was selected with the 28^th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. The Indianapolis native is currently a member of the Chicago Bulls. R.J's godfather is Ron Harper-a college teammate of his father at Miami (OH)-who played 15 years in the NBA with the Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers and won five titles.
 
The Panthers roster features a number of interesting connections to professional athletes, coaches and political officials:
 

• Junior guard Carter Cagle's father, Casey is the Lieutenant Governor of the State of Georgia.

 

• Freshman guard Nile Felton's, father, Dennis previously served as the head basketball coach at Georgia and Western Kentucky. The elder Felton is currently an assistant at Tulsa.

 

• Sophomore guard Devin Mitchell's cousin is former Heisman Trophy winner and Super Bowl XXXI MVP, Desmond Howard.

 

• Seymour is related to former NFL star and three-time Super Bowl champion, Richard Seymour.

 

• Sophomore forward Jordan Tyson's father, Gerald played college basketball at Ohio State and Kansas State. Tyson is also related to former NBA player Glen Rice.

 
NJIT OUTLOOK
 
The Highlanders took the lead for good on senior guard Damon Lynn's three-point play with just over four minutes left in the 74-68 win over Colgate on Saturday.
 
Lynn-who was named the ASUN Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 27.3 ppg in three games last week-led NJIT with 24 points in the Colgate game. Fellow seniors Rob Ukawuba and Tim Coleman chipped in with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
 
Head coach Brian Kennedy's squad sank 25-of-29 (86.2%) from the charity stripe against the Raiders, including a 15-of-16 performance from Lynn.
 
As a team, the Highlanders are shooting 73.1% from the free-throw line this season, led by Lynn's 96.6% (28-of-29).
 
Freshman Anthony Tarke has enjoyed a strong start to the season off the bench, averaing 8.0 ppg and 7.3 rpg in four games thus far.
 
Tarke ranks second on the team in rebounding behind sophomore Abdul Lewis (8.8 rpg). 


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry