NJIT Game Highlights (VIDEO)


NEWARK, NJ – Kendrick Ray kissed a layup off the glass with 4.7 seconds left to give Kennesaw State (10-14, 4-4 ASUN) a 54-53 win over the NJIT Highlanders (9-15, 1-7 ASUN) on Monday night at Fleisher Athletic Center in Newark.
 
Ray's layup came on the heels of freshman guard Shyquan Gibbs giving NJIT a 53-52 edge with 0:17 left after an acrobatic finish in traffic.
 
The Highlanders have now dropped five in a row, which marks the longest losing streak since dropping six straight from Dec. 10-30, 2013.
 
However, three of those games have been played without the team's leading scorer, senior guard Damon Lynn (20.6 ppg) who ruptured his right achilles less than five minutes into the game at FGCU on Jan. 21. During the most recent trio of games, the Highlanders have averaged just 60.0 points per game sans Lynn after scoring at a rate of 75.3 points per game in their first 21 affairs.
 
A layup by Gibbs gave NJIT a 46-40 lead with 5:02 remaining in the game. However, KSU went on a 10-0 run capped when Kosta Jankovic hit a pair of free throws to give the visitors a 50-46 advantage with 3:09 to play. The Highlanders responded with a layup from senior guard Rob Ukawuba and a pair of free throws from sophomore center Abdul Lewis to tie things at 50 apiece.
 
Gibbs hit 6-of-8 from the field and both of his attempts from beyond the arc en route to a career-high 16 points for the Highlanders. Lewis added 20 points and eight rebounds for head coach Brian Kennedy's squad and senior forward Tim Coleman chipped in with seven points and eight rebounds of his own.
 
Ray had a game-high 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting to pace Kennesaw State while junior guard Nick Masterson added 15 points of his own.
 
As a team, NJIT hit 20-of-45 (44.4%) from the floor and the Owls sank 22-of-58 (37.9%). Not to be lost in their offensive struggles is the fact NJIT has held its last three opponents to just 63.7 points and 39.4 percent from the floor (65-for-165) -- including holding the ASUN's highest scoring team, Lipscomb, to more than 18 points below their season average (84.7 ppg). 
 
After Masterson hit a jumper to give KSU a 35-33 lead with 10:44 to play, the Highlanders embarked on a 9-0 run capped by a pair of free throws from Lewis to open up a 42-35 advantage.
 
The Owls did not go away though as Masterson buried a three on the other end to kick start an 11-4 run and tied things at 46 apiece with 4:21 remaining.
 
Kennesaw State outrebounded NJIT by a 31-30 margin with Lewis and Coleman's eight rebounds apiece leading the way for the hosts. Senior forward Aubrey Williams had six rebounds to pace the Owls.
 
NJIT came firing out of the gate in this one and a layup from sophomore guard Reilly Walsh gave the Highlanders a 19-12 lead with 9:50 left in the opening stanza.
 
The two teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half and the Highlanders took a 28-23 lead into the locker room.
 
Just like the matchup five days earlier the Highlanders led for more than 75-percent of the game. On Monday, NJIT held an advantage for 30:52 with a margin that peaked at eight, 26-18, with 4:25 to go in the first half. Last Wednesday at the KSU Convocation Center, the Highlanders led for 34:4 and built an 11-point edge with 10:05 to go before the break.

NJIT will be back in action on Saturday afternoon when they head to Nashville to battle the Lipscomb Bison (14-11, 6-2 ASUN). Opening tip from Allen Arena is slated for 5 p.m. 


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry