NJIT GAME NOTES (PDF)


PISCATAWAY, NJ – The NJIT Highlanders (5-3) will play the last of three Power 5 foes this season when they visit in-state rival Rutgers (6-3, 0-2 Big Ten) on Thursday night. Opening tip from Rutgers Athletic Center (RAC) is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on BTN Plus.
 
NJIT won their fifth straight at home with a 78-65 win over UMass Lowell on Sunday, while Rutgers battled for all 40 minutes in a 62-52 loss vs. No. 3 Michigan State on Tuesday.
 
With a win, head coach Brian Kennedy's squad would snap a nine-game road losing streak dating back to last season. The Highlanders' last road win came in a 64-61 victory at Stony Brook on Dec. 28, 2016.
 
NJIT would also notch their best nine-game start in school history with a victory on Thursday after having matched their best start through eight games with the win on Sunday.
 
The Scarlet Knights have dropped three straight after a 6-0 start to the season.
 
The Highlanders fell 82-53 to No. 22 Seton Hall on Nov. 18 and dropped a 102-69 decision at No. 19 West Virginia on Nov. 30 in their other battles against Power 5 foes this season. In the Seton Hall contest, NJIT trailed by just four points in the early going of the second half.
 
A link to BTN Plus can be found by clicking here. 
 
All-Time Series
 
Thursday marks the sixth all-time meeting between NJIT and Rutgers, but the first between the two schools since a 77-53 Scarlet Knights win on Dec. 22, 2011 at The RAC.
 
Rutgers leads the all-time series 5-0 with all five previous meetings coming during the Scarlet Knights' tenure as a Big East member.
 
The two teams played for five consecutive seasons from the 2007-08 campaign until the 2011-12 season.
 
NJIT is 1-3 all-time against B1G foes with the lone win coming in a 72-70 upset victory at No. 17 Michigan on Dec. 6, 2014. Last season, the Highlanders battled in a 79-68 loss at No. 17 Purdue on Nov. 26, 2016 and a 74-68 defeat at the hands of Minnesota on Dec. 6, 2016.
 
Knights in Shining Armor
 
The game was tied at halftime, but Rutgers fell short in the 62-52 loss to No. 3 Michigan State on Tuesday as the Spartans closed the game on a 17-9 run over the final 8:14.
 
The Scarlet Knights shot just 25.8% (17-66) from the floor and 4-15 (26.7%) from beyond the arc in the contest.
 
Senior forward Deshawn Freeman paced Rutgers with 13 points and was joined in double figures by freshman guard Geo Baker and sophomore forward Eugene Omoruyi who added 11 points apiece.
 
Head coach Steve Pikiell's squad is allowing a Big Ten best 56.9 points per game and has held seven of their nine opponents under 70 points. Rutgers also ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage defense, holding foes to 36.7% shooting on the year.
 
Freeman leads the team in rebounding at 9.2 boards per game and ranks second in scoring (11.6 ppg). Junior guard Corey Sanders paces the Scarlet Knights at 11.9 ppg, while Baker (11.4 ppg) and Omoruyi (10.9 ppg) also average in double figures.
 
Pikiell is in his second year as the head man at Rutgers after leading Stony Brook to six postseason appearances in seven seasons at the helm of the Seawolves.
 
Rutgers went 15-17 (3-15 Big Ten) a year ago in Pikiell's first season.
 
During his seven seasons at Stony Brook, Pikiell won four America East regular season titles and led his team to the school's first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016 as a No. 13 seed where they fell to No. 4 Kentucky.
 
The Connecticut native was also a four-time recipient of the America East Coach of the Year award.
 
Senior guard Jake Dadika's father, Rick, played his college basketball at Rutgers from 1985-90 and scored 1,023 points in his career. The elder Dadika helped lead the Scarlet Knights to the 1989 A-10 title and an NCAA Tournament berth.
 
Sophomore guard Issa Thiam's father, Assane, played basketball for the Senegal national team at the 1972 Summer Olympics.
 
Assistant coach Brandin Knight helped lead Pitt to two Sweet 16 appearances (2002, 2003) in his playing days and is the Panthers' all-time leader in assists (785) and steals (298). Knight's No. 20 jersey is retired by his alma mater.
 
NJIT Outlook
 
The Highlanders won their fifth straight at the brand-new Wellness and Events Center (WEC) with the 78-65 win over UMass Lowell on Sunday.
 
After UMass Lowell's Rinardo Perry hit a layup to give the visitors a 25-23 lead with 3:06 to play in the first half, sophomore forward Anthony Tarke buried a three on the other end to kickstart a 12-3 run over the remainder of the half as NJIT took a 35-28 lead into the locker room.
 
NJIT led by double digits for the majority of the second half and led by as many as 20 at 56-36 with 11:19 to play.
 
Tarke led the Highlanders with a season-high 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting including a 3-of-3 performance from downtown, while junior center Mohamed Bendary matched his career-high with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and was joined in double figures by freshman guard Zach Cooks and junior forward Abdul Lewis who added 10 points apiece.
 
Bendary had previously scored 16 on Jan. 24, 2016 vs. North Florida.
 
Tarke has paced NJIT in scoring in back-to-back games and is averaging 15.5 points per game during that stretch.
 
The Highlanders forced 23 River Hawk turnovers in Sunday's win including 14 steals as they currently lead the ASUN and are tied for 20^th in the nation in steals per game (9.4).
 
NJIT continues to rank second in the ASUN in both scoring defense (71.8 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (43.2%).
 
Lewis leads the ASUN in rebounding at 9.9 rpg and is one of three Highlanders averaging in double figures with 10.4 points per game. Tarke (11.8 ppg) and junior guard Diandre Wilson (11.3 ppg) are the others.
 
Wilson has scored in double digits in four of his last five games and has posted 12.4 points per game in that time.
 

Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry