NEWARK, NJ -- The Highlanders men's basketball team may have returned to Newark a little bit exhausted this weekend, but certainly well enriched from the experience. Over the course of one week, NJIT endured four flights, four bus rides (of at least one hour each), four nights in Mexico and three games in a span of five days. Not to mention having Thanksgiving dinner in the Courtyard Lafayette (Indiana) at 11 p.m. after arriving from 13 straight hours of travel.

Yet, the the team returned to Fleisher Athletic Center with the program's first win against a Big Sky Conference opponent (Idaho State), a battle to the wire against the No. 17 team in the country (Purdue), the #3 entry on SportsCenter's Top-10 Plays on Saturday and an opportunity to learn about life south of the border.

"As a coach, winning basketball games is important. But even more important is the overall education of the kids," head coach Brian Kennedy said. "For my players to be down in a foreign country and experience the culture of Mexico and do so in a setting with a lot of other high-major and outstanding mid-major programs was an honor and privilege from the kids. I think our guys got a tremendous amount of educational benefit from being down there."
 
Being part of the Cancun Challenge was special for NJIT. After all, it marked the first time in the program's history the Highlanders were invited into a national holiday tournament; and the NJIT letters were proudly displayed beside banners from Auburn, Purdue and Texas Tech, to name a few. Of course, the tournament started at Utah State on Nov. 14 -- meaning that by the time NJIT finished up at Mackey Arena, the team had played seven games in 16 days, four different states, two countries and two time zones while traveling an approximate 11,500 miles since opening the season on Nov. 11.

The Highlanders went 1-1 in Cancun, losing to Georgia State -- one of the preseason favorites in the 12-team Sun Belt Conference -- on Tuesday before rallying to defeat Idaho State on Wednesday. Not only was the win special from the sense the Bengals are a top team in the Big Sky Conference, but also because they are coached by the legendary Bill Evans -- the 2016 Big Sky Coach of the Year. Evans' teams always pose significant challenges for their opponents, as this "defensive mastermind" utilizes a match-up zone that no one else in the country plays. Not to mention the Highlanders had less that 24 hours to prepare for Idaho State.
 
With little time to celebrate, it was off to Purdue -- an elite Big Ten Conference program that entered the week at No. 17 in the Associated Press Top-25 poll. In their illustrious history, the Boilermakers have been to the NCAA Tournament 28 times while producing 49 All-Americans, more than 30 NBA players and two No. 1 overall picks in the NBA draft. In fact, Purdue is tied with Indiana University for the most Big Ten Championships (22) in conference history. Meanwhile, NJIT enters just its second season participating in an automatic qualifying conference (ASUN) and its 11th as a Division-I member.

Yet, behind 33 points from senior co-captain Damon Lynn, the upset-minded Highlanders trailed by just three points at the half and were within single-digits until the final seconds of a hard-fought, 79-68 defeat. 

"Purdue is a top 20 team in the country and they have two of the best big men in college basketball. Coach [Matt] Painter is a heck of a coach and he's got a heck of a team this year," Kennedy said. "I just wanted my guys to keep fighting and keep fighting because that's what NJIT basketball is all about. We don't have the highest recruits in the country and we're not the biggest or strongest team, but we accept who we are and we need to play that way in order to be successful."

After a win at No. 17 Michigan on Dec. 6, 2014, and back-to-back trips to the semifinals of the CollegeInsider.com National Postseason Tournament (CIT) in 2015 and 2016, the young Division-I program has certainly come a long way. 

"Moral victories are not what we're about anymore," Kennedy said. "But I was proud of the way guys played. Really proud."

The Highlanders finished 1-2 for the week, but the team certainly got better both on and off the court.

And although the school didn't receive the same national publicity after its bout at Purdue as it did following the Highlanders' upset in Ann Arbor, there was still an additional reminder of the incredible week and what the NJIT athletic program -- and its student athletes -- are able to accomplish.

Senior co-captain Rob Ukawuba represented the program to a national audience when his emphatic dunk over All-Big Ten selection and future NBA draft pick Caleb Swanigan appeared as play #3 on ESPN's SportsCenter Top-10 Plays.
 
This week served as an excellent reminder of how far the NJIT athletic department has come... as well as the many accomplishments still ahead.