Game Highlights (VIDEO)


LOWELL, MA -- Senior guard Rob Ukawuba's free throw with 20 seconds left gave NJIT (5-4) a 75-74 win over UMass Lowell (2-7) on Saturday afternoon at Tsongas Center in Lowell.
 
On the ensuing possession, UMass Lowell's Jahad Thomas missed a layup with four seconds remaining and Stefan Borovac was short on a putback attempt at the buzzer that sealed the victory for the Highlanders.
 
The Highlanders have now won each of the last two meetings against the River Hawks and notched their first ever win in Lowell along with their first road victory of the season. It was also the first career road victory for first-year head coach Brian Kennedy.
 
A pair of free throws from Jones opened up a 74-71 lead for UMass Lowell with 2:30 left to play before Abdul Lewis converted a three-point play on the other end to tie things at 74 apiece for the Highlanders.
 
In the final minute, senior guard Damon Lynn missed a three-pointer that would have broken the tie for NJIT, but Ukawuba grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled on the way up to set the stage for his clutch free throw.
 
The Highlanders hit 9-of-17 (52.9%) from the charity stripe while UMass Lowell sank 20-of-24 (83.3%).
 
Ukawuba was one of four Highlanders to finish in double figures with 15 points and six rebounds. Lynn had a game-high 21 points and seven assists while senior forward Tim Coleman chipped in with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Lewis also contributed with 10 points of his own.

For Coleman, it was his second double-double of the season and the 12th of his career -- which ties him for the NJIT career record of 12 with Nesho Milosevic '08 & Isaiah Wilkerson '12.
 
Matt Harris paced the River Hawks with 17 points off the bench to go along with 16 points from sophomore guard Ryan Jones and a 14-point, six rebound effort from Thomas.
 
A dunk from Ukawuba with 8:25 left gave the visitors a 62-53 edge before Harris' triple on the other end kickstarted a 21-9 run for the River Hawks, which resulted in the 74-71 advantage.
 
NJIT held a 15-point lead coming out of halftime before the back-and-forth second half featured a number of runs from both sides.
 
Ukawuba hit a three-pointer with 18:43 to play to stretch it to a 38-22 lead for the Highlanders before UMass Lowell embarked on a 24-7 run to take their first lead of the second half. Tyler Livingston's layup gave the hosts a 46-45 lead with 12:39 remaining.
 
Coleman buried a three on the other end to jumpstart a 17-7 run that was capped by the afore-mentioned throwdown from Ukawuba.
 
UMass Lowell jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the early going before the Highlanders went on a 12-0 run to take a 15-7 lead with 12:20 left in the opening stanza.
 
A three-pointer from Lynn kicked off the 12-0 run and the River Hawks would not get closer than seven for the remainder of the half. In fact, NJIT led by as many as 18 points in the final minute after a triple from junior guard/forward Chris Jenkins. The triple from Lynn sent him past Desmond Cowins ('04) into second place on the school's all-time scoring list. 
 
NJIT outrebounded UMass Lowell by a 35-30 margin, led by the 11 rebounds from Coleman and six from Ukawuba. Thomas snagged six rebounds of his own to pace head coach Pat Duquette's squad.
 
The Highlanders will play their second Big 10 foe of the season on Tuesday night when they battle the Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-1) at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. Opening tip is slated for 8 p.m. 


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry