NJIT Game Notes (PDF)


JACKSONVILLE, FL – The Highlanders (9-17, 1-9 ASUN) will wrap up their three-game road trip and the road portion of the 2016-17 schedule on Saturday night when they battle the Jacksonville Dolphins (15-12, 3-7 ASUN). Opening tip from Swisher Gym is slated for 7 p.m.
 
NJIT is coming off a 91-69 setback at North Florida on Thursday, while Jacksonville fell to USC Upstate by a 70-67 score.
 
The game can be seen 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, 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 the audio call with the pregame show beginning at 6:45 p.m. The broadcast can be accessed for free at www.njithighlanders.com.
 

ALL-TIME SERIES
 
The Highlanders lead the all-time series 2-1, but Jacksonville won the most recent meeting with an 82-81 victory at Fleisher Athletic Center on Jan. 12.
 
A late 13-6 run from NJIT cut the Jacksonville lead to one in the final minute, but senior guard Damon Lynn came up short on a long three-pointer that would have given the Highlanders the win at the buzzer.
 
Lynn buried seven three-pointers to pace NJIT with 24 points, while junior guard Chris Jenkins added 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc and senior forward Tim Coleman contributed 15 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Freshman forward Anthony Tarke sank all six of his field goal attempts en route to 12 points off the bench.
 
Senior forward J.R. Holder led the way offensively for the Dolphins with a career-high 39 points on 14-of-18 shooting and senior guard Darien Fernandez added 15.
 
NJIT notched victories of 83-63 and 73-58 over Jacksonville during the 2015-16 season.
 

DOLPHIN LANDING
 
USC Upstate outscored the Dolphins 40-25 in the second half en route to the 70-67 win on Thursday night at Swisher Gym.
 
Senior forward Marcel White paced Jacksonville with 22 points on the strength of six three-pointers and senior guard Andris Misters added 14 points off the bench.
 
Holder leads the team in scoring at 17.5 ppg and is joined in double figures by White (14.0 ppg), Fernandez (13.1 ppg) and junior guard Devin Harris (10.9 ppg).
 
White has scored 20 or more points in two of his four games since his return.
 
Head coach Tony Jasick's squad ranks second in the league in both FG PCT (46.8%) and three-point PCT (40.8%).
 
Jasick is in his third season at the helm of the Dolphins and has compiled a 41-50 record over his two plus seasons thus far.
 
He previously spent three seasons as the bench boss at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne (IPFW) and was named the 2014 Mid-Major National Coach of the Year after leading the Mastodons to a school record 25 wins and a CIT victory over Akron, the first postseason victory in school history.
 
Harris' older brother, Ramon, played basketball at Kentucky and currently plays professionally with the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA D-League.
 
Misters played for the Latvian National Team at the European Championships.
 

NJIT OUTLOOK
 
North Florida closed the first half on a 35-8 run en route to the 91-69 win over NJIT on Thursday night at UNF Arena in Jacksonville.
 
The Highlanders came firing out of the gates and held an 18-8 lead in the early going before UNF embarked on the 35-8 run.
 
Tarke tied his career-high with 23 points to lead the way offensively for head coach Brian Kennedy's squad while sophomore center Abdul Lewis added 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting and senior forward Tim Coleman-the school's all-time leader in career double-doubles-chipped in with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Tarke had previously scored 23 in the 84-78 win over North Florida on Jan. 14 at Fleisher Athletic Center in Newark.
 
The Gaithersburg, Md., native is averaging 19.0 ppg in two starts this season.
 
A win on Saturday would give NJIT its 100^th win in program history against a Divison-I opponent.


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry