NJIT Game Notes (PDF)


NEWARK, NJ -- The Highlanders (9-14, 1-6 ASUN) will try to snap a four-game skid on Monday night when they host the Kennesaw State Owls (9-14, 3-4 ASUN) at Fleisher Athetic Center in Newark. Opening tip is slated for 7 p.m.
 
NJIT rallied late, but came up short in a 66-62 loss to Lipscomb on Saturday, while the Owls dropped a 79-73 decision to USC Upstate.
 
The Highlanders are 6-2 at Fleisher Athletic Center 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 be on play-by-play with expert analysis from Dave Calloway.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
 
The Highlanders lead the all-time series by a 2-1 score, but the Owls won the most recent meeting, which came on Wednesday night.
 
NJIT took a seven-point lead into the break and led for most of the night before Kennesaw State embarked on a late 9-0 run and took the lead for good on Tyler Hooker's three-pointer with 2:47 to play in a 71-65 win.
 
Hooker scored seven of the nine points for the Owls during the late spurt.
 
Senior guard Rob Ukawuba tied his career-high with 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting for the Highlanders and sophomore center Abdul Lewis added eight points and 16 rebounds.
 
Senior guard Kendrick Ray led five Owls in double figures with 18 points while Hooker and junior guard Nick Masterson added 16 apiece. Senior forward Aubrey Williams contributed 12 points for KSU.
 
NJIT notched victories of 75-67 and 78-59 over Kennesaw State during the 2015-16 season.
 
GIVE A HOOT
 
USC Upstate outscored the Owls 46-35 in the second half en route to the 79-73 win on Saturday.
 
Masterson sank 3-of-6 from downtown en route to 14 points for Kennesaw State, while Williams tallied 12 points and 10 rebounds and Ray chipped in with 10 points of his own.
 
The Owls are the top three-point shooting team in the ASUN as they hit 43.5% of their shots from beyond the arc.
 
Thus far in conference play, Masterson has hit 19-of-34 (55.9%) from deep.
 
Ray leads the team and ranks second in the ASUN in scoring at 21.7 ppg, a total that is tied for 13^th best in the nation. He is joined in double figures by Williams (12.6 ppg) and Masterson (12.5 ppg).
 
Williams leads the ASUN in rebounding with an average of 10.9 boards per game.
 
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
 
NJIT rallied late, but fell short in the 66-62 loss to Lipscomb on Saturday afternoon at Fleisher Athletic Center.
 
Freshman forward Anthony Tarke buried a three with 2:22 left to tie things at 57 apiece for NJIT before Lipscomb's Rob Marberry hit a layup on the other end to give the visitors the lead for good with two minutes remaining.
 
Tarke buried all five of his attempts from the field and posted 15 points for head coach Brian Kennedy's squad. Lewis posted a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Highlanders, while freshman guard Shyquan Gibbs hit 5-of-6 from the field en route to a career-high 14 points.
 
Lewis is one of two players in the ASUN averaging a double-double in league play as the Newark native is posting 13.3 ppg and 11.4 ppg in seven conference games. Williams is the only other player averaging a double-double in ASUN play.
 
Senior forward Tim Coleman is one of just four players in Division I with at least 1,300 career points, 700 rebounds and 225 assists. The others are Villanova's Josh Hart, Middle Tennessee's Reggie Upshaw and Marshall's Ryan Taylor. 


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry