NJIT GAME NOTES (PDF)


NEWARK, NJ – The NJIT Highlanders (6-6) look to move back above the .500 mark when Division III foe Bryn Athyn (6-3, 3-0 NEAC) comes to the Wellness and Events Center (WEC) for a Friday afternoon matinee. Opening tip is set for 2 p.m.
 
NJIT is coming off a closely contested 71-68 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday, while the Lions have won five of their last six after a 73-69 win over Rutgers-Camden.
 
The Highlanders have won six of their first eight contests 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.
 
Matt Provence, the voice of the Highlanders, is on play-by-play with expert analysis from Dave Calloway.
 
All-Time Series
 
Friday marks the first ever meeting between NJIT and Bryn Athyn.
 
The Lions are the second of two Division III opponents on the docket for the Highlanders who toppled Kean by a score of 116-63 on Nov. 22.
 
NJIT is 20-0 all-time against Division III foes and 27-0 against non-NCAA Division I opponents.
 
This marks the third straight season that Bryn Athyn has played a Division I foe after an 84-51 loss to Delaware a year ago and a 100-44 defeat at the hands of Princeton during the 2015-16 campaign.
 
The Lion Report
 
Bryn Athyn has won five of their last six after a 1-2 start to the year.
 
In the 73-69 win over Rutgers-Camden on Saturday, the Lions held a seven-point halftime lead and held on for the win.
 
Junior guard Rahim Washington led all scorers with a game-high 27 points on 12-of-20 shooting, while junior guard/forward Lamarr Crenshaw added 17 on a 7-of-12 shooting performance.
 
The Lions compete in the North Eastern Athletic Conference.
 
Bryn Athyn has made a mark on the defensive end of the floor as opponents are shooting just 28.4% from beyond the arc.
 
Offensively, Washington leads the team and ranks fourth in the NEAC in scoring at 19.2 points per game, while Crenshaw checks in at 15.8 ppg. Senior forwards Christian Rivera and Adonis Rosario average 8.8 and 8.0 ppg, respectively.
 
Crenshaw is the team's top rebounder at 6.1 boards per game.
 
Head coach Justin Baxter is in his sixth season at the helm of the Lions and previously served as an assistant coach at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.
 
Baxter played college basketball at Arcadia University under current Richmond head coach Chris Mooney.
 
Bryn Athyn is located in the borough of Bryn Athyn, which is located 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia. 11 of the 16 players on the Lions' roster hail from the Keystone State.
 
NJIT Outlook
 
The 71-68 win over FDU on Saturday featured 15 ties and seven lead changes before freshman guard Shawndale Jones' go-ahead three-pointer with 1:26 left gave the Highlanders the lead for good.
 
In the final 30 seconds, FDU's Darian Anderson misfired on a jumper that would have given the visitors the lead. Freshman guard Zach Cooks grabbed the rebound for NJIT, sank a pair of free throws to make it a three-point game and came up with his first career block on Jahlil Jenkins' three-point attempt to preserve the win.
 
Sophomore forward Anthony Tarke and junior forward Abdul Lewis paced the Highlanders with 17 points apiece, while junior guard Diandre Wilson added 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting and Cooks registered 12 points, three rebounds and three steals.
 
Tarke has now led or tied for the team lead in scoring in each of his last six games and is averaging 18.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game during that stretch.
 
Head coach Brian Kennedy's squad leads the ASUN in scoring defense (73.0 ppg) and steals (9.0 spg) and ranks second in turnovers forced per game (16.2 tpg).
 
The 9.0 steals per game are also tied for 21^st in the nation with Florida State.
 
On the offensive side of things, NJIT ranks third in the conference in field goal percentage (44.6%).
 
Tarke leads the team and ranks eighth in the ASUN in scoring at 14.3 ppg, while Lewis (10.9 ppg) and Wilson (10.8 ppg) also average double figures for the Highlanders. Lewis continues to lead the league in rebounding at 9.8 rpg, a total that is 25^th best in the NCAA. 


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry