NJIT GAME NOTES (PDF)


NEWARK, NJ – The NJIT Highlanders (5-6) return home and look to snap a three-game skid on Saturday afternoon when the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (3-6) come to the Wellness and Events Center (WEC) for a 4 p.m. tip.
 
NJIT is coming off an 87-76 loss at Colgate on Tuesday, while FDU dropped a 92-54 decision at the hands of Rutgers last time out.
 
The Highlanders have won five of their first seven at the brand-new 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.
 
Matt Provence, the voice of the Highlanders, will be on play-by-play with expert analysis from Dave Calloway.
 

All-Time Series
 
NJIT is 3-0 all-time against Fairleigh Dickinson, but the two teams have not met since a 66-63 Highlander victory on Jan. 14, 2013 at FDU.
 
In that contest, NJIT's Chris Flores hit a jumper with 1:07 left to break a 60-all tie and give the visitors the lead for good.
 
The lone previous meeting in Newark was a 66-53 victory for the Highlanders on Dec. 28, 2011.
 
NJIT is 14-12 all-time against Northeast Conference foes including a 1-1 mark this season. The Highlanders fell to Wagner, 60-49 in the WEC opener on Nov. 11 before picking up a 73-69 victory over LIU-Brooklyn on Nov. 28.

 
Knights in Shining Armor
 
In the 92-54 loss at Rutgers on Saturday, the Scarlet Knights shot 53.2% (33-of-62) from the floor and built a 50-22 halftime lead.
 
Freshman forward Noah Morgan paced FDU with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting and was joined in double figures by senior guard Darian Anderson who added 12 points.
 
FDU has lost four straight after a 3-2 start to the year.
 
The Knights rank second in the NEC in field goal percentage (46.2%) and fourth in scoring at 75 points per game.
 
Anderson leads FDU in scoring at 13.6 ppg, while junior forward Mike Holloway Jr. checks in at 12.7 ppg and junior guard Darnell Edge sits at 12.3 ppg. Holloway Jr. is also the team's leading rebounder at 6.2 boards per game.
 
Head coach Greg Herenda is in his fifth season at the helm of Fairleigh Dickinson after spending five seasons as the bench boss at UMass Lowell.
 
Herenda led the Knights to a 2016 NCAA Tournament berth after going 18-15 (11-7 NEC). The tourney berth was the first for FDU since 2005 and the 18 wins were the most by an FDU team since the 2005-06 campaign.
 
A year ago, Fairleigh Dickinson went 11-19 overall (9-9 NEC) and was picked to finish second in the NEC preseason poll this season. Anderson was named to the Preseason All-NEC team.
 
During his tenure at UMass Lowell, Herenda guided the River Hawks to four straight Division II NCAA Tournament appearances (2009-12).
 
Other head coaching stops for the North Bergen, N.J., native include one season apiece at Division III Cabrini College (2007-08) and Elgin Community College (2006-07).
 
Herenda enjoyed a four-year playing career at Merrimack College and still holds the school's single-game assist record (22) while he is tied for the single-season assist average (9.0 apg).
 
Freshman guard Jahlil Jenkins played AAU hoops for the Uncommon Bulls and was coached by former NFL wide receiver Antwan Randle-El. Randle-El spent five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2002-05, 2010) and four with the Washington Redskins (2006-09).

 
NJIT Outlook
 
In the 87-76 loss at Colgate on Tuesday, the Raiders shot 60.0% (30-of-50) from the floor including a blistering 68.2% (15-of-22) clip in the first half.
 
Sophomore forward Anthony Tarke buried a three to give NJIT its final lead of the night at 69-67 with 4:54 to play before Colgate answered with a three of their own on the other end to take the lead right back as Sean O'Brien banked in a triple.
 
O'Brien's three kickstarted a 10-0 run for the Raiders.
 
Tarke led four Highlanders in double figures as him and O'Brien matched one another with 21 points for their respective teams. Junior guard Diandre Wilson added 16, junior forward Abdul Lewis notched his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds and freshman guard Shawndale Jones contributed 12 points off the bench for head coach Brian Kennedy's squad.
 
Tarke has now led NJIT in scoring in five straight games and is averaging 18.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game during that stretch.
 
The 10 rebounds for Lewis marked his sixth double-digit rebounding effort of the season and the Newark native continues to lead the ASUN in rebounding at 10.1 boards per game, which is tied for 19^th in the nation.
 
The Highlanders forced 17 turnovers (eight steals) against Colgate and lead the ASUN in turnovers forced per game at 16.5 on the season.
 
Tarke leads the team and ranks 10^th in the league in scoring at 14.1 points per game, while Wilson (10.5 ppg) and Lewis (10.4 ppg) also average double figures in points for NJIT. 
 
As a team, the Highlanders are scoring 73.5 ppg.


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry