NJIT Game Notes (PDF)


NEWARK, NJ -- The Highlanders (5-8) return to action on Thursday afternoon at Fleisher Athletic Center against Division III foe Dean College (MA). Opening tip is slated for 4 p.m.
 
This marks the first home game for NJIT since an 83-70 win over Saint Francis (PA) on November 30. The Highlanders are 3-0 at home this season and are 30-8 in their last 38 games in Newark. In fact, NJIT has a six-game home winning streak dating back to the start of the 2016 CIT. 
 
The game can be seen live on ESPN3 (all remaining NJIT home basketball games can be seen on ESPN3).
 
A simple way to find ESPN3 is on NJIT's official athletics website, www.njithighlanders.com. Near the middle of the home page NJIT TV section, click Upcoming Events for a list of scheduled NJIT contests. After finding the event, click the camera icon to the right of the event listing. That brings you to an ESPN3 portal where you can access the desired program. 
 
Matt Provence, the voice of the Highlanders, is on play-by-play with expert analysis from Dave Calloway.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
 
Thursday is the first ever meeting between NJIT and Dean College. It is also the second and final non-Division I foe on the slate for the Highlanders this season after a 100-38 win over Sarah Lawrence in the season opener.

Dean College does not participate in athletics under the NCAA umbrella, but is one of 25 schools that is a member of the USCAA Division I. The Bulldogs were tied for seventh in the latest USCAA Division I poll. 
 
NJIT is 25-0 all-time against non-Division I foes and 19-0 against Division III foes with an average margin of victory of 37.7 points. 

BULLDOG BITES
 
The Bulldogs (8-5) have won four of their last five and are coming off an 86-71 win at Rivier College on December 10. 
 
In that contest, sophomore guard Dayvon Russell led Dean with a game-high 30 points and he was joined in double figures by sophomore guard Randolf Thurman (14 points), freshman forward Josh Croskey (12 points) and sophomore guard/forward Kendall Thomas (11 points, nine rebounds).
 
Dean is averaging 84.8 ppg this season and has topped 70 points in all but two games this season.
 
Freshman forward Naquwan Solomon leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 18.6 ppg and 11.3 rebounds per game. Russell (15.7 ppg), junior guard Aziz Gilliam (10.6 ppg) and Hamilton (10.4 ppg) also average double figures in points.
 
Head coach Rico Cabral picked up the 500^th win of his career during the 2015-16 season and is a member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. Cabral has previously served as an assistant at the Division I level with stints at St. Bonaventure and Boston College.
 
NJIT OUTLOOK
 
The Highlanders dropped a 68-63 heartbreaker to Temple on Saturday afternoon as the Owls scored the final five points of the game to notch the victory.
 
The game was tied at 63 apiece in the final minute before Temple's Shizz Alston Jr. hit a layup with 0:45 left to give the hosts the lead.
 
Senior guard Damon Lynn hit 7-of-15 from beyond the arc en route to a game-high 25 points and surpassed 2,000 points in his career. Junior guard Chris Jenkins chipped in with 12 points off the bench and senior forward Tim Coleman added 11 points and nine rebounds for NJIT.
 
Jenkins' 12 points came on the strength of four three-pointers as the Highlanders sank 13-of-33 (39.4%) from beyond the arc.
 
Lynn now has 2,015 points in his career and is just 14 points away from passing Clarence Pierce ('96) as the school's all-time leading scorer. He has scored 20+ points in nine games this season and has posted double digit points in 27 straight contests dating back to last season. 
 
The senior co-captain is also just three three-pointers away from moving into the top-10 all-time for career three-pointers made in NCAA Division I history. 
 
NJIT outrebounded Temple 37-34 in the contest, led by 13 rebounds from sophomore center Abdul Lewis. Lewis also set a career-high with six assists on the afternoon. 

The Highlanders have fought for all 40 minutes in games against power conference foes this season as they trailed No. 17 Purdue by single digits in the final minute, trailed by one at Minnesota (others receiving votes) in the final three minutes of the game and as previously mentioned, were tied with Temple in the final minute of the game. 


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry