NJIT Highlights (VIDEO)

Jenkins Drains Career-High 5 Treys (VIDEO)


NEWARK, NJ – The Highlanders (9-19, 1-11 ASUN) battled for all 40 minutes, but came up just short as the first-place Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (21-7, 10-2 ASUN) closed the game on a 13-4 run en route to an 80-73 win over NJIT on Thursday night at Fleisher Athletic Center in Newark.
 
Senior forward Tim Coleman buried a three to give NJIT a 69-67 lead with 4:43 to play before FGCU's Brandon Goodwin answered with a three of his own on the other end to kick-start the 13-4 run for the Eagles over the final 4:16.
 
The Highlanders trailed 60-55 with just over 10 minutes left in the game before a layup from senior guard Rob Ukawuba ignited a 14-7 run that gave the hosts the lead following the afore-mentioned three from Coleman.
 
The game was a very back-and-forth affair as neither team led by more than seven at any point.
 
Coleman hit 7-of-12 from the field to pace NJIT with 19 points, junior guard Chris Jenkins sank a career-high-tying five triples en route to 17 points and Ukawuba chipped in with 14 off the bench.

In addition, freshman forward Anthony Tarke added 10 points for head coach Brian Kennedy's squad. Tarke has now scored in double digits in his last four games and leads all ASUN freshmen in scoring at 11.8 ppg. His 253 points this season are the most scored by an NJIT freshman since Damon Lynn scored 500 in 2013-14.
 
Goodwin led four Eagles in double figures with a game-high 24 points, while senior forward Demetris Morant tallied 16 points and nine rebounds and junior guard Christian Terrell contributed 15 points of his own.
 
Both teams shot well from the floor as the Highlanders hit 50.9% (27-53) and Florida Gulf Coast converted 56.4% (31-55) of their shots.
 
In the early going, Tarke hit a pair of free throws to give NJIT an 18-11 advantage with 10:18 left in the opening stanza before the Eagles answered with 15-8 run capped by a Goodwin layup to tie things at 26 apiece.
 
The two sides traded baskets for the majority of the final five minutes of the first half before freshman guard Shyquan Gibbs scored five straight points to give the Highlanders a 42-37 edge heading into the locker room.
 
NJIT outrebounded FGCU by a 26-23 margin, led by five rebounds from sophomore center Mohamed Bendary. Morant's nine rebounds led the way for the Eagles.
 
FGCU is now a perfect 6-0 on the road in ASUN games this season. In fact, the Eagles entered the contest with the third-longest active road winning streak in Division I and have now won eight straight away from Alico Arena. Additionally, FGCU tied its D-I, regular-season win record of 21 set in 2012-13 and tied in 2014-15.

The Highlanders will be back in action on Saturday afternoon when the Stetson Hatters (11-18, 3-9 ASUN) come to Newark for a 4 p.m. tip at Fleisher Athletic Center. 


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry