NJIT Game Notes (PDF)


NEWARK, NJ --The Highlanders (8-10, 0-2 ASUN) will look to snap a two-game skid on Saturday afternoon when they host the North Florida Ospreys (7-12, 2-0 ASUN) at Fleisher Athletic Center in Newark. Opening tip is slated for 4 p.m.
 
NJIT is coming off a heartbreaking 82-81 loss to Jacksonville on Thursday night while the Ospreys picked up their third straight win with a 73-65 victory over USC Upstate.
 
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 be on play-by-play with expert analysis from Dave Calloway.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
 
North Florida captured both meetings last season and leads the all-time series by a 2-0 count.
 
The Ospreys captured a 94-80 win at Fleisher Athletic Center on Jan. 24, 2016 and a 107-71 victory in Jacksonville on Feb. 18 of last season.
 
In the first meeting, UNF raced out to a 14-point halftime lead and was led by 29 points from senior guard Dallas Moore. Senior guard Ky Howard paced the Highlanders with 16 points.
 
During the game in Jacksonville, the Ospreys shot 68.4% (39-57) from the floor en route to the 107-71 win. The hosts also hit 17-of-29 (58.6%) from beyond the arc in that contest.
 
Senior guard Demarcus Daniels had a game-high 25 points to pace the Ospreys while junior guard Chris Jenkins led NJIT with 16 points off the bench.
 
F-U-N WITH U-N-F
 
In the 73-65 win over USC Upstate, the Ospreys closed the game on an 8-0 run with six of those eight points coming from the charity stripe.
 
Moore was one of three players in double figures with 19 points while senior guard Aaron Bodager added 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting from three and senior forward Chris Davenport chipped in with 12.
 
Moore-the program's all-time leading scorer-leads the team and is tied for tops in the ASUN in scoring at 22.4 ppg, which is also tied for 10^th in the nation. Freshman guard Garrett Sams joins Moore in double figures with 10.1 ppg.
 
North Florida shoots 34.1% as a team from beyond the arc, led by Moore at 41.1% (58-141).
 
Head coach Matthew Driscoll is in his eighth season at the helm of the Ospreys and has led the program to back-to-back ASUN regular season titles along with consecutive postseason appearances.
 
Last season's squad won a regular season school-record 21 games and hosted Florida in the opening round of the NIT.
 
Prior to coming to North Florida, Driscoll spent six seasons as the top assistant at Baylor and helped lead the Bears to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 20 seasons in 2008.
 
Driscoll's son, Chase, is a junior guard for the Ospreys.
 
Freshman forward Wajid Aminu's brothers, Alade and Al-Farouq, played collegiately at Georgia Tech and Wake Forest, respectively. Al-Farouq currently plays for the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers while Alade plays professionally in Isreal.
 
Freshman guard C.J. Fisher's father, Charles, was a Hall of Fame basketball player at James Madison and was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 9^th round of the 1983 NBA Draft.
 
Freshman guard Benedikt Haid's father, Johannes, was a two-time NAIA All-American at Hawaii Pacific and signed with the Detroit Pistons before suffering a severe knee injury.
 
NJIT OUTLOOK
 
The Highlanders put together a late rally, but came up just short in the 82-81 heartbreaking loss to Jacksonville on Thursday night at Fleisher Athletic Center.
 
NJIT had multiple chances to tie the game in the final minute after trailing by as many as 14 points in the second half.
 
Senior guard Damon Lynn drained seven three-pointers on his way to 24 points for the hosts while senior forward Tim Coleman added 15 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Junior guard Chris Jenkins tallied 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from downtown and freshman Anthony Tarke chipped in with 12.
 
The loss snapped an eight-game home winning streak for NJIT dating back to last season.
 
Lynn ranks third in the ASUN in scoring at 21.4 ppg while Coleman sits fourth in rebounding with 8.0 boards per game.
 
A win on Saturday would mark the first-ever win for the Highlanders against North Florida. 


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry