NJIT GAME NOTES (PDF)


NEWARK, NJ – The NJIT Highlanders (4-3) return home to host the UMass Lowell River Hawks (5-2) on Sunday afternoon at the brand new Wellness & Events Center (WEC).
 
The Highlanders are coming off a 102-69 loss at No. 19 West Virginia on Thursday, while UMass Lowell dropped an 87-80 decision vs. Sacred Heart on Wednesday in Lowell.
 
NJIT has won four of its first five at the WEC.
 
The game can be seen live on ESPN3 (all remaining NJIT home basketball games can be seen on ESPN3).
 
A simple way to find ESPN3 is on NJIT's official athletics website, http://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.
 
Rob Kennedy is on play-by-play with expert analysis from Dave Calloway.
 
All-Time Series
 
The all-time series is tied at three apiece after a 75-74 Highlander win on Dec. 3, 2016 in Lowell.
 
NJIT has won each of the last two meetings in the series.
 
In last season's tightly contested affair, senior guard Rob Ukawuba hit a free throw with 20 seconds left to break the 74-all tie and give the Highlanders the lead.
 
On the ensuing possession, UMass Lowell's Jahad Thomas missed a layup with four seconds remaining and Stefan Borovac was short on a putback attempt at the buzzer that sealed the victory for NJIT.
 
Ukawuba was one of four Highlanders in double figures with 15 points and six rebounds, while Damon Lynn added a game-high 21 points and Tim Coleman contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds. Junior forward Abdul Lewis chipped in 10 for NJIT.
 
Senior guard Matt Harris paced the River Hawks with 17 points off the bench to go along with 16 points from junior guard Ryan Jones and 14 from Thomas.
 
NJIT is 13-20 all-time against America East foes and went 2-0 against the conference in 2016-17 with victories over UMass Lowell and Stony Brook.
 
Binghamton is the only member of the conference that the Highlanders have never played.
 
River Hawk Down
 
In the 87-80 loss to Sacred Heart on Wednesday, Harris led the River Hawks with 23 points while Thomas added 22 and sophomore guard Rinardo Perry chipped in with 12 of his own.
 
UMass Lowell held a 39-35 halftime lead before Sacred Heart outscored the hosts 52-41 in the second half on the strength of 62% shooting from the floor.
 
The River Hawks rank second in America East in scoring at 83.1 points per game.
 
Head coach Pat Duquette's squad was picked to finish in a tie for sixth in the AEC preseason poll after going 11-20 (5-11 America East) a year ago.
 
2017-18 marks just the fifth season at the Divison I level for UMass Lowell after previously being a member of the Northeast-10 conference at the Division II level.
 
Thomas-the first All-America East first team selection in school history last season-currently leads the River Hawks in scoring (20.2 ppg), rebounding (10.8 rpg) and assists (4.2 apg). Harris (16.6 ppg), Jones (11.9 ppg) and Perry (10.5 ppg) also average double figures in points for UML.
 
Duqette is in his fifth season as the head man in Lowell and has notched double digit wins in each of his four previous campaigns.
 
Before coming to Lowell, Duquette spent 16 years as an assistant with stints at BC (1997-2010) and Northeastern (2010-13).
 
During his time at BC, the Dalton, Mass., native was a part of seven NCAA Tournament teams and three Big East Championship teams including a Sweet 16 berth in 2006.
 
Assistant coaches Louis Hinnant and Biko Paris both played at Boston College during Duqette's tenure as an assistant under head coach Al Skinner.
 
Jones' father, Michael, played college football at Wisconsin and spent time in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers.
 
NJIT Outlook
 
No. 19 West Virginia used a 21-8 run over the final 5:05 of the first half en route to the 102-69 win over the Highlanders on Thursday in Morgantown.
 
Sophomore forward Anthony Tarke paced head coach Brian Kennedy's squad with 13 points and six rebounds, while junior guard Diandre Wilson added 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting and freshman guard Shawndale Jones contributed nine of his own off the bench.
 
Wilson has scored in double figures in each of his last four games and is averaging 13.3 points per game during that stretch.
 
The game marked NJIT's sixth all-time against a Top-25 foe.
 
Defense has been a strong suit of the Highlanders thus far in 2017-18 as they lead the ASUN in turnovers forced (15.9 tpg) and ranks second in both scoring defense (72.7 ppg) and field goal percentage (42.2%).
 
Wilson is one of three scorers averaging in double figures for NJIT at 11.6 ppg while Tarke sits at 10.9 ppg and Lewis checks in at 10.4 ppg.
 
Lewis leads the ASUN in rebounding at 10.7 boards per night.
 
There are a pair of Highlanders in the top five in three-point percentage: sophomore guard Shyquan Gibbs (1st, 80.0%, 8-10) and Wilson (T-4th, 50.0%, 9-18).
 
Earlier in his career, NJIT second-year assistant coach Jeff Rafferty spent four years as the top assistant at UMass Lowell when that program competed in Division II. In his time at UML, the River Hawks were a combined 94-30 and made back-to-back trips to the Division II national Elite Eight in 2003 and 2004.


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry