GAME HIGHLIGHTS (VIDEO) 

NJIT'S KENNEDY, COOKS, JONES POSTGAME COMMENTS (VIDEO)

THE RAFF REPORT: POSTGAME ANALYSIS (VIDEO)


NEWARK, NJ – The NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team (2-2) scored their most points in nearly 19 years in a 116-63 win over Division-III Kean University (0-2) on Wednesday afternoon at the Wellness and Events Center (WEC) in Newark.
 
The 116 points is the most points scored in a game by NJIT since the Division-III Highlanders' 118-74 win over Conordia (NY) on Jan. 4, 1999.
 
NJIT shot a blistering 67.7% (44-65) from the floor in the offensive outburst and improves to 27-0 all-time against Non-Division I foes with an average margin of victory of 40.0 points per game. Head coach Brian Kennedy's squad also sank a whopping 14-of-24 (58.3%) from beyond the arc.

Highlanders freshmen played a leading role, combining for 55 points on an impressive 22-for-32 (.688) shooting. Guard Shawndale Jones paced the attack with a game-high 23 points while guard Zach Cooks finished with 17 points on the strength of five three-pointers.

"Our freshmen class has a great amount of talent," said Kennedy. "Zach came in in the first half and really gave us a lift. Shawndale had 12 points in the first half and played well. These two guys have been great since Day One and have great careers ahead of them."

Add in junior guard Diandre Wilson (13 points), and newcomers tallied 68 points -- five more than the opposition on Wednesday. All 13 players on the NJIT roster entered the scoring column and  sophomore forward Anthony Tarke (12 points) and junior guard Donovan Greer (10 points) rounded out five Highlanders in double figures.
  
The 10 points for Greer marks the second-highest total of his Highlanders career.

Kean held an early 6-5 lead in the early going before the Highlanders embarked on a 17-3 run over the next four minutes capped by a three from Greer that made it a 22-9 game in favor of the hosts at the 11:41 mark of the opening stanza.
 
The Cougars would get within single digits just once more (24-15) on the afternoon. Following a Jodrell Thompson free throw that made it a nine point game, freshman San Antonio Brinson hit a jumper on the other end to kickstart a 28-10 run for NJIT over the final 8:13 of the half as they took a 52-25 lead into the locker room.

Jones' dozen points led all scorers at the half.

"I just played hard and let the shots come to me," said Jones, a native of Pittsburgh, Pa. "Once my shot is going well, I feel like everything else flows.

Meanwhile, Cooks iced the game with 13 points in the second half.

"My teammates found me and I let the game come to me," said Cooks, who connected on all six of his shot attempts in the final stanza.

The Highlanders, who entered the game with 29 assists trough their first three contests, recorded 32 helpers for the game. Cooks and Jones finished with a game-high five assists a piece.

NJIT held Kean to just 36.5% (23-63) shooting from the floor and 29.2% (7-24) from downtown. In addition, the Highlanders forced the Cougars into 22 turnovers -- a handful coming on a game-high five thefts from Cooks.

For the Cougars, Vaughn Laki Anderson buried five of his six attempts to pace the team, while junior guard DeAndre Thomas added nine and the duo of D'Andre Mathis and Jeff Cooper chipped in with six apiece.
 
The Highlanders scored 10 of the first 12 points in the second half and hit the century mark on a triple from Cooks with 06:04 to play. Cooks' three came as part of a 9-0 run that stretched the lead to as many as 57 points with a free throw from Taj Price at the 4:07 mark.
 
NJIT outrebounded Kean by a 40-28 margin, led by seven rebounds from junior forward Abdul Lewis and six from junior center Mohamed Bendary. Duke Germain paced the Cougars with six boards on the afternoon.
 
NJIT is back in action on Saturday afternoon when the Drexel Dragons of the Colonial Athletic Association visit for a 4 p.m. tip at the WEC.


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry