It's NJIT Time (VIDEO)

ASUN Preview with Coach Kennedy (VIDEO)

NJIT Game Notes (PDF)

ASUN Championships Bracket (PDF)


NASHVILLE, TN -- The No. 7 seeded NJIT Highlanders (11-19, 3-11 ASUN) will battle the No. 2 seeded Lipscomb Bison (19-12, 11-3 ASUN) in the ASUN Quarterfinals on Monday night at Allen Arena in Nashville. Opening tip is slated for 8 p.m. EST.
 
NJIT closed the regular season by erasing a 17-point deficit in an 88-87 win over USC Upstate on Thursday night, while Lipscomb poured in 62 points in the first half en route to an 85-74 win over Kennesaw State.
 
A year ago, the No. 2 seeded Highlanders dropped their first ever ASUN postseason game to the No. 7 seeded Stetson Hatters, 82-67.
 
From 2010-13, NJIT went 3-4 in Great West* Tournament contests (*non AQ).
 
The game 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 7:45 p.m. The broadcast can be accessed for free at www.njithighlanders.com.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
 
Lipscomb leads the all-time series by a 3-1 margin and won both meetings during the regular season. The two sides have split a pair of meetings in Nashville.
 
On Jan. 28 in Newark, the Bison led by 14 with 7:03 remaining, but NJIT battled back to tie the game at 57 apiece in the final three minutes before falling 66-62.
 
Sophomore center Abdul Lewis had 20 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Highlanders, while sophomore guard Garrison Matthews led the way offensively for the Bison with 21.
 
During the return game in Nashville, Lipscomb hit 10-of-20 from beyond the arc on its way to an 87-63 victory over the Highlanders on Feb. 4.
 
Lewis topped NJIT with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting in that contest, while Matthews and junior guard Nathan Moran had 18 apiece for the Bison.
 
Sophomore guard Donovan Greer made his Highlander debut in the latter meeting and buried a trio of three-pointers en route to 11 points.
 
The two teams split a pair of meetings during the 2015-16 season with each team winning on the other's home court.
 
BISON BITES
 
On Thursday night vs. Kennesaw State, the Bison drained 14-of-27 (51.9%) from deep and scored 62 in the first half en route to the 85-74 victory over the Owls.
 
Moran had a game-high 24 points on the strength of eight three-pointers, Matthews chipped in with 20 and senior guard Josh Williams added 11 for Lipscomb.
 
Entering the ASUN tournament, the Bison have won eight of their last nine games.
 
Last season, No.6 seed Lipscomb pulled off an 92-89 overtime win over No. 3 seed Jacksonville before falling to Stetson in the semifinals, 96-75.
 
The Bison lead the ASUN in scoring at 84.6 ppg, rank second in field goal percentage (47.0%) and third in three-point percentage (36.7%). 84.6 ppg is also the 12^th highest total in the nation.
 
Matthews leads the team in scoring at 19.8 ppg and is joined in double figures by Williams (13.5 ppg), sophomore center Rob Marberry (12.5 ppg) and Moran (11.2 ppg). Moran sits third in the ASUN in three-point percentage at 42.5%, while Matthews' 19.8 ppg is good for fourth in the league.
 
Head coach Casey Alexander is in his fourth season at the helm of the Bison after previously spending two seasons as the head coach at Stetson.
 
Prior to becoming a head coach, Alexander played his college basketball at Belmont and spent 16 seasons as an assistant with the Bruins.
 
During his tenure as an assistant, Belmont made four trips to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Alexander led the Bruins to a 119-25 record during his playing days and was inducted into the Belmont Hall of Fame in 2005.
 
Mathews' grandfather played football at Ole Miss and was a member of the 1962 National Championship team.
 
Senior guard Cam Miller is the great nephew of Baseball Hall of Famer Charlie Gehringer, who played 19 seasons with the Detroit Tigers from 1924-42.
 
Freshman forward Kenny Bunton's brother, Dallas, serves as a manager for the team.
 
NJIT OUTLOOK
 
On Thursday night against USC Upstate, the Highlanders trailed by 16 at halftime, but came roaring back in the second half and freshman guard Shyquan Gibbs hit a pair of free throws with 0:07 left to lift NJIT to the 88-87 victory.
 
Junior guard Chris Jenkins gave the hosts their first lead of the second half at 84-83 after sinking a three with 2:48 left. The two teams traded punches over the next couple minutes and the Spartans' Michael Buchanan hit a layup with 0:56 left to give USC Upstate an 87-86 advantage and set the stage for Gibbs' clutch free throws.
 
Five Highlanders finished in double figures, led by 18 points from freshman forward Anthony Tarke and 15 from senior forward Tim Coleman.
 
Tarke was named the ASUN Newcomer of the Week for the second time this season on Monday. The Gaithersburg, Md., native leads all ASUN freshman in scoring at 12.5 ppg and is averaging 16.2 ppg to go along with 6.2 rebounds per night in six games since entering the starting lineup.
 
The Highlanders enter the ASUN Tourney having won back-to-back games for the first time since taking three in a row from Dec. 22-Jan. 4.
 
Head coach Brian Kennedy's squad snapped a nine-game skid with a 60-56 win on Stetson on Feb. 18 and has been within one possession inside of 3:00 left in eight of its 11 ASUN losses.
 
Over its last two games, NJIT has posted a +29 rebounding margin (84-55) and has corralled 30 offensive rebounds. This season, the Highlanders finished second in the ASUN in rebounding margin (+3.1), but topped the ranks during league play at +3.6. 


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry