NJIT GAME NOTES (PDF)

PREGAME COMMENTS WITH COACH KENNEDY (VIDEO)


BUFFALO, NY – The NJIT Highlanders (7-6) look for their second straight win with their penultimate non-conference tilt against the Buffalo Bulls (7-5) of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) on Thursday night at Alumni Arena in Buffalo.
 
NJIT is coming off a 99-53 win over Division III foe Bryn Athyn College on Friday, while Buffalo battled for all 40 minutes in an 89-73 loss to No. 5/6 Texas A&M on Thursday.
 
With a win, the Highlanders will snap a 12-game road losing streak that dates back to last season. NJIT's last road win was a 64-61 triumph at Stony Brook on Dec. 28, 2016.
 
The game can be seen live on ESPN3 (all remaining NJIT 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.
 
All-Time Series
 
This marks the first ever meeting between the Highlanders and Bulls.
 
NJIT is 0-2 all-time against MAC foes with both losses coming to Kent State in the last two seasons; an 80-75 loss in Newark on Dec. 7, 2015 and an 87-71 road loss to the Golden Flashes on Dec. 10, 2016.
 
Bulls Bits
 
In the 89-73 loss to Texas A&M, the Bulls drained 17 three-pointers, which is the second highest total in school history and the most since hitting 18 against Troy State in the 1995-96 season.
 
Buffalo trailed by just four at 69-65 with 3:43 to play before the Aggies closed the game on a 24-8 run.
 
The Bulls have dropped two straight after winning seven of their first 10 to start the year.
 
Junior guard CJ Massinburg was 6-of-12 from beyond the arc and led the Bulls with 20 points, while senior guard Wes Clark and junior forward Nick Perkins added 17 apiece.
 
Massinburg leads five Bulls that average double figures in points at 19.5 ppg, a total that ranks second in the MAC. Clark (16.0 ppg), Perkins (14.8 ppg), junior guards Jeremy Harris (11.8 ppg) and Dontay Caruthers (11.3 ppg) also average double figures for the Bulls.
 
Massinburg is also the team's leading rebounder at 7.5 boards per game.
 
Head coach Nate Oats is in his third season at the helm of the Bulls after spending two seasons as an assistant under previous head coach Bobby Hurley. Hurley is currently the head coach at Arizona State.
 
Oats led Buffalo to their second straight NCAA Tournament berth during the 2015-16 season and also registered a second consecutive 20-win season. The Bulls received a 14 seed and fell to No. 3 seed Miami, 79-72 in the opening round.
 
Prior to coming to Buffalo, Oats served as the head coach at Romulus High School (MI) for 11 years and led the school to their first state championship in 27 years during the 2012-13 campaign.
 
During his tenure at Romulus, the school advanced to the Michigan Class A Final Four on five occasions posted a 222-52 overall record.
 
Clark played for Oats at Romulus and is in his first season with the Bulls after transferring from Missouri.
 
Caruthers' cousin Javon McCrea (2010-14) is UB's all-time leading scorer with 2,004 points. McCrea is currently playing professionally in Germany.
 
NJIT Outlook
 
The Highlanders used a 19-5 run over the final 4:41 of the first half to take control of the game in Friday's 99-53 win over Division III foe Bryn Athyn College.
 
Sophomore forward Taj Price had six of his season-high eight points during the run and hit the first two threes of his career.
 
NJIT is now 21-0 all-time against Division III opponents with an average margin of victory of 41.7 points.
 
Junior guard Diandre Wilson paced NJIT with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting (4-of-5 from three) and was joined in double figures by sophomore forward Anthony Tarke (14 points, six rebounds) and freshman guard David Kachelries who added a career-high 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
 
Wilson has scored in double digits in three straight games and is averaging 15.0 points per game during that stretch, while Tarke has posted 17.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg and 2.1 spg in his last seven contests.
 
Tarke has led the Highlanders in scoring in six of those seven games.
 
Tarke leads the team in scoring at 14.3 ppg and is joined in double figures by Wilson (11.1 ppg) and junior forward Abdul Lewis (10.7 ppg). Lewis also leads the ASUN in rebounding at 9.4 boards per game.
 
On the defensive side of things, NJIT continues to lead the ASUN in scoring defense at 71.5 ppg and ranks third in field goal percentage (45%). The Highlanders also average nine steals per game, a total that ranks tops in the ASUN and tied for 18^th in the nation.
 
With a win, NJIT will start 8-6 through 14 games for the second time in program history (2015-16).


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry