NJIT Game Notes (PDF)


NEWARK, NJ – The Highlanders (9-18, 1-10 ASUN) will return home on Thursday night when they battle the FGCU Eagles (20-7, 9-2 ASUN) in the first game of a three-game homestand to close the regular season. Opening tip from Fleisher Athletic Center is slated for 7 p.m.
 
NJIT dropped a 76-73 heartbreaker at Jacksonville on Saturday night, while Florida Gulf Coast picked up a 75-63 win over USC Upstate to remain in first place in the ASUN.
 
The Highlanders are 6-3 at Fleisher Athletic Center this season.
 
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 play-by-play with expert analysis from Dave Calloway.

 
ALL-TIME SERIES
 
Florida Gulf Coast leads the all-time series by a 2-1 count after picking up an 84-71 win over the Highlanders on Jan. 21 at Alico Arena in Fort Myers.
 
The Eagles used a 14-3 run midway through the second half to pull away from the Highlanders in that contest.
 
Sophomore center Abdul Lewis paced NJIT with a career-high 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting, while senior forward Tim Coleman added 13 points and senior guard Rob Ukawuba and junior guard Chris Jenkins chipped in with 11 apiece.
 
Redshirt junior guard Brandon Goodwin led four Eagles in double figures with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go along with 19 points from sophomore guard Zach Johnson and 16 from sophomore guard Rayjon Tucker.
 
Each team won at home during the 2015-16 season as FGCU notched an 82-78 win and the Highlanders posted a 68-59 victory against the Eagles at Fleisher Athletic Center.
 

FROM THE EAGLES NEST
 
FGCU pulled away in the second half and led by as many as 16 in the 75-63 win over USC Upstate on Saturday.
 
Goodwin paced the Eagles with a game-high 24 points, while redshirt senior forward Demetris Morant added 17 on 7-of-11 shooting and Johnson chipped in with 10.
 
As a team, the Eagles lead the ASUN in field goal percentage at 50.4% and ranks third in points at 78.7 ppg.
 
Goodwin leads the team in scoring at 17.4 ppg and is joined in double figures by Johnson (11.4 ppg), Morant (10.4 ppg) and junior guard Christian Terrell (10.2 ppg).
 
Head coach Joe Dooley is in his fourth season at the helm of the Eagles and has posted a 85-45 record to date. Dooley has posted three straight 20-win seasons and led FGCU to the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
 
Prior to coming to Fort Myers, the West Orange, N.J., native spent 10 seasons as an assistant at Kansas and won the 2008 National Championship.
 
Florida Gulf Coast burst onto the national scene as "Dunk City" during the school's run to the 2013 Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed which included upset wins over Georgetown and San Diego State.
 
Dooley and junior forward Kevin Mickle both attended St. Benedict's Prep in New Jersey.
 
Terrell was high school teammates with Duke's Grayson Allen at Providence High School in Jacksonville.
 
Tucker's cousin, Jia Perkins, played college basketball at Texas Tech and currently plays for the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx.
 

NJIT OUTLOOK
 
Andris Misters' three-pointer with seven seconds left gave Jacksonville the lead for good in the 76-73 win over the Highlanders on Saturday night at Swisher Gym in Jacksonville.
 
After Coleman sank a jumper to break the tie and give NJIT a 73-71 edge with 0:29 left, Misters grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed three from Darien Fernandez and hit the triple to give Jacksonville the lead.
 
The Highlanders trailed by as many as 11 points in the second half and put together an impressive rally to make the game close.
 
Coleman hit 9-of-14 from the field to pace NJIT with a game-high 23 points, while freshman forward Anthony Tarke chipped in with 19 and Lewis added 11 points and seven rebounds.
 
Tarke's 243 points this season are the most scored by an NJIT freshman since senior guard Damon Lynn scored 500 during the 2013-14 season. The Gaithersburg, Md., native is averaging 12.0 ppg in ASUN play.
 
With a win on Thursday, the Highlanders will post their 100^th win in program history against a D-1 opponent.


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry