Game Notes (PDF)


NEWARK, NJ -- The Highlanders (8-9, 0-1 ASUN) return home to host the Jacksonville Dolphins (12-6, 0-1 ASUN) in an Atlantic Sun battle on Thursday night at Fleisher Athletic Center. Opening tip from Newark is slated for 7 p.m.
 
Both teams are coming off losses in their conference opener on Saturday as NJIT rallied late, but came up short in a 75-65 loss to USC Upstate while Jacksonville fell to city rival North Florida by a score of 80-64.
 
NJIT is 5-0 at home this season and has won eight in a row in Newark dating back to the start of the 2016 CIT. In fact, the Highlanders are the only remaining undefeated team at home among ASUN members this season.
 
The game can be seen on ESPN3 (all remaining NJIT 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, will handle play-by-play duties with expert analysis from Dave Calloway.
 

ALL-TIME SERIES
 
The Highlanders lead the all-time series 2-0 after capturing both meetings last season by double digits.
 
NJIT topped the Dolphins by an 83-63 count on Jan. 21, 201,6 in Newark and notched a 73-58 victory in Jacksonville on Feb. 20 of last season.
 
During the game in Newark, NJIT shot 58.1% (18-31) from the field and put up 51 points in the second half on the way to the 83-63 victory. Senior guard Damon Lynn led the hosts with a game-high 20 points.
 
In the latter meeting, the Highlanders opened up a 42-30 lead at the break and shot 52.9% from the floor en route to the victory. Sophomore center Mohamed Bendary led NJIT with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting while senior forward Tim Coleman and junior guard Chris Jenkins chipped in with 12 points apiece. Lynn added 11 of his own.
 
Senior forward J.R. Holder paced Jacksonville with a game-high 22 points.
 
Last season, NJIT was 4-3 at home against ASUN foes.
 

DOLPHIN LANDING
 
Despite the loss to North Florida, the Dolphins have won three of their last four contests entering play.
 
Head coach Tony Jasick's squad ranks in the top three in the league in numerous offensive categories: 79.3 ppg (3rd), 48.3% FG (2nd) and 42.1% 3PT (2nd).
 
Jacksonville features a very balanced attack offensively with six players averaging in double figures: Holder (16.6 ppg), junior guard Devin Harris (11.6 ppg), senior guard Darien Fernandez (11.6 ppg), junior forward Cody Helgeland (10.4 ppg), senior forward Darius Dawkins (10.1 ppg) and senior forward Marcel White (10.0 ppg).
 
Dawkins was named the ASUN Co-Player of the Week on Monday after knocking down a program and conference record 13 three-pointers en route to a career-high 41 points in a 124-85 win over Middle Georgia State on Jan. 3. The 41 points marked the most scored by any ASUN player since Feb. 20, 2012.
 
Jasick is in his third season at the helm of the Dolphins and has compiled a 38-44 record over his two plus seasons thus far.
 
He previously spent three seasons as the bench boss at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne (IPFW) and was named the 2014 Mid-Major National Coach of the Year after leading the Mastodons to a school record 25 wins and a CIT victory over Akron, the first postseason victory in school history.
 
Harris' older brother, Ramon, played basketball at Kentucky and currently plays professionally with the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA D-League.
 
Senior guard Andris Misters played for the Latvian National Team at the European Championships.
 

NJIT OUTLOOK
 
The Highlanders cut a 14-point deficit to three with two minutes left, but fell short in the afore-mentioned 75-65 loss at USC Upstate on Saturday.
 
Coleman paced NJIT offensively with 16 points and 10 rebounds, the program record 14th double-double of his career. Sophomore center Abdul Lewis had his second double-double in his last three games with a season-high 15 points and 10 rebounds while Lynn added 11 points and Jenkins chipped in with nine off the bench.
 
The 11 points from Lynn marked the 31st straight game in which he has scored in double figures.
 
Despite outrebounding and forcing more turnovers than USC Upstate, the Highlanders shot just 30.1% (22-73) from the floor and 5-32 (15.6%) from three in the loss. Meanwhile, the Spartans hit 28-of-62 (45.9%) from the field and 9-of-29 (31.0%) from beyond the arc.

With a win, NJIT will even its record back to .500 at 9-9 and 1-1 in ASUN play.


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry