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RIVIERA MAYA, MEXICO -- The NJIT Highlanders (2-3) will look to salvage the Consolation game of the Cancun Challenge on Wednesday afternoon against the Idaho State Bengals (0-4). Opening tip from the Hard Rock Riviera Maya Hotel is slated for 12:30 p.m.
 
NJIT fell victim to a late 18-0 run in the first half en route to a 74-53 loss to Georgia State earlier today. The Bengals led for a majority of the second half, but came up short in a 91-82 overtime loss to Eastern Kentucky.
 
The game can be seen on YouTube Live.
 
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
 
This game marks the first ever meeting between NJIT and Idaho State.
 
All-time, the Highlanders are 5-4 against current members of the Big Sky Conference with eight of those nine games coming against the University of North Dakota during their days as a member of the Great West Conference. The other game was a loss to Northern Arizona in the 2015 CIT Semifinals.
 
BENGAL BITES
 
In the afore-mentioned 91-82 overtime loss to Eastern Kentucky, freshman guard Brandon Boyd led the Bengals with a career-high 25 points while Geno Luzcando chipped in with 20 points of his own. Sophomores Gary Chivichyan and Novak Topalovic added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Idaho State shot 29-of-57 from the field (50.9%) and 12-of-26 (46.2%) from deep in the loss to Eastern Kentucky.
 
Senior guard Ethan Telfair leads the team in scoring with 21.3 ppg and is joined in double figures by Luzcando (14.8 ppg), Boyd (11.3 ppg) and Topalovic (10.3 ppg). In fact, Topalovic is currently averaging a double-double with his 10.3 ppg and 10.0 rpg.
 
In four games this season, the Bengals have allowed an average of 84.8 ppg.
 
Head coach Bill Evans is in his fifth season as the bench boss at Idaho State and became the fourth coach in school history to win Big Sky Coach of the Year after winning the award last seasons. Evans guided last year's team to a 16-15 record (11-7 Big Sky) and a fourth place finish in the league.
 
Previously, the Southern Utah product spent 16 seasons as the head coach at his alma mater and led the Thunderbirds to their only NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001.
 
Telfair's brother, Sebastian, played for eight different NBA teams over parts of 10 seasons. The elder Telfair was selected with the 13^th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.
 
Junior guard Hayes Garrity's father, Steve, also played basketball for the Bengals and enjoyed a professional career in the CBA and overseas.
 
Freshman forward Clark Wilkinson's father, Dale, laced them up for ISU as well and spent parts of one NBA season (1984-85) with the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Clippers.
 
NJIT OUTLOOK
 
Georgia State closed the first half on an 18-0 run en route to a 74-53 win over the Highlanders on Tuesday afternoon. NJIT had led for the entire first half up until the midway point of that run.
 
Senior guard Damon Lynn paced the Highlanders with 15 points, while fellow senior Osa Izevbuwa added 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting (3-of-5 from three). Senior Tim Coleman chipped in with seven points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.
 
The 13 points from Izevbuwa marked the most for him since he scored 14 in a win vs. Fisher College on Feb. 7, 2015.
 
NJIT shot 10-of-19 (52.6%) from the field in the first half before shooting just 7-of-31 (22.5%) in the final 20 minutes.
 
The Highlanders forced 16 Georgia State turnovers in the loss and Lynn led the team with three steals. 


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry