NJIT Game Notes (PDF)

Preview with Brian Kennedy (VIDEO)


KENNESAW, GA -- The Highlanders (9-12, 1-4 ASUN) will look to snap a two-game skid on Wednesday night when they battle the Kennesaw State Owls (8-13, 2-3 ASUN) in the final game of their three game road swing. Opening tip from the KSU Convocation Center is slated for 7 p.m.
 
NJIT is coming off an 84-71 loss at Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday while the Owls topped Jacksonville by an 81-71 score last time out.
 
This marks the first of two meetings in the next five days between the Highlanders and the Owls.
 
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 the audio call with the pregame show beginning at 6:45 p.m. The broadcast can be accessed for free at www.njithighlanders.com
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
 
The Highlanders lead the all-time series 2-0 after notching a pair of victories last season.
 
On Jan, 30. 2016 at the KSU Convocation Center, senior guard Damon Lynn poured in a game-high 22 points to help lead NJIT to the 75-67 victory and senior guard Rob Ukawuba added 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting for the visitors.
 
Senior guard Yonel Brown paced Kennesaw State with 19.
 
During the game in Newark, the Highlanders held a six-point lead at the half and held the Owls to just 24 second-half points in a 78-59 victory.
 
Lynn led four players in double figures for NJIT with 19 points and hit all nine of his attempts from the charity stripe.
 
Brown's 19 points led the way offensively for Kennesaw State.
 
GIVE A HOOT
 
The Owls opened up an 18-point halftime lead and held on for an 81-71 win at Jacksonville on Saturday night.
 
Senior forward Aubrey Williams hit of 11-of-14 from the field en route to a game-high 25 points and senior guard Kendrick Ray chipped in with 22 of his own.
 
As a team, Kennesaw State hits 43.9% of their shots from beyond the arc, which is tops in the ASUN.
 
Ray leads the team and ranks second in the ASUN in scoring at 22.4 ppg and is joined in double figures by Williams (12.6 ppg) and junior guard Nick Masterson (12.3 ppg). The 22.4 ppg from Ray also rank him 11^th in the nation in that category.
 
Williams leads the ASUN in rebounding with an average of 11.1 boards per night.
 
Head coach Al Skinner is in his second season at the helm of the Owls after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant at Bryant.
 
Skinner previously served as the head coach at Rhode Island (1988-97) and Boston College (1997-2010).
 
During his tenure at BC, he led the Eagles to seven NCAA Tournament appearances and compiled a 247-165 record including seven 20-win seasons.
 
Ray's older brother, Allan Ray, played his college basketball at Villanova (2002-06) and scored over 2,000 points in his career. The elder Ray spent parts of one NBA season with the Boston Celtics and currently plays professionally in Italy.
 
Freshman guard James Scott's father, James Sr., played college basketball at St. John's.
 
NJIT OUTLOOK
 
In the 84-71 loss at Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday, the Highlanders trailed by as many as 19 points, but rallied to cut the lead to four in the second half. However, FGCU responded with a 14-3 run to pull away and NJIT did not get closer than 10 the rest of the way.
 
Lynn exited at the 15:15 mark of the first half due to injury and did not return. The senior co-captain currently ranks as the NCAA's active career scoring leader (2,153 points) and three-point shooter (434). The 434 three-pointer rank fifth all-time in NCAA Division I history.
 
Sophomore center Abdul Lewis paced the Highlanders with a career-high 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting and nine rebounds. Senior forward Tim Coleman added 13 points for NJIT while junior guard Chris Jenkins chipped in with 11 off the bench.
 
Lewis was named the ASUN Newcomer of the Week on Monday after averaging 22.0 ppg and 14.0 rpg in two games this week. The Newark native hit a combined 15-of-28 from the floor (53.6%) and sank 14-of-19 (73.7%) from the charity stripe. This marks the second time this season that Lewis has received the award (Jan. 2).
 
In fact, an NJIT player has now received the award in three of the past four weeks after freshman forward Anthony Tarke was honored on Jan. 16. 


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry