NJIT GAME NOTES (PDF)


KENNESAW, GA – The NJIT Highlanders (9-11, 2-3 ASUN) look to move back to .500 in league play when they battle the Kennesaw State Owls (5-15, 1-4 ASUN) on Wednesday night at the KSU Convocation Center. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m.
 
NJIT is coming off a 63-61 heartbreaking defeat at the hands of Jacksonville on Saturday, while Kennesaw State dropped a 66-49 decision to first place Florida Gulf Coast.
 
This marks the first of two meetings in the next five days between the Highlanders and the Owls as the two teams will play on Monday, Jan. 29 at the Wellness and Events Center in Newark.
 
With a win, NJIT will snap a 16-game, road losing streak that started after the Highlanders' notched a 64-61 win at Stony Brook on Dec. 28, 2016. NJIT is 0-7 on the road this season.
 
The game can be seen live 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, http://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.

 
All-Time Series
 
The all-time series is tied at two apiece after the Owls swept both meetings a year ago.
 
Both contests were decided by single digits as Kennesaw State picked up a 71-65 victory on Jan. 25, 2017 and a 54-53 win in Newark on Jan. 30, 2017.
 
In the most recent meeting, Kendrick Ray kissed a layup off the glass with 4.7 seconds left to give the Owls a 54-53 advantage. Ray's layup came on the heels of a go-ahead basket from Highlanders' sophomore guard Shyquan Gibbs with 0:17 left.
 
Gibbs hit 6-of-8 from the field and both of his attempts from beyond the arc en route to a career-high 16 points for the Highlanders. Junior forward Abdul Lewis added 20 points and eight rebounds for head coach Brian Kennedy's squad and Tim Coleman chipped in with seven points and eight rebounds of his own.
 
Ray had a game-high 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting to pace Kennesaw State while senior guard Nick Masterson added 15 points of his own.
 
In the last meeting in Kennesaw on Jan. 25, 2017, redshirt sophomore guard Tyler Hooker hit a three-pointer with 2:47 left as part of a 9-0 run to give the Owls the lead for good in a 71-65 victory.
 
Coleman had converted a three-point play to give NJIT a 63-60 lead with 4:22 remaining before the late spurt by Kennesaw State.
 
Rob Ukawuba tied his career-high with 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting to pace the Highlanders, while Coleman added 19 points of his own. Ray led five Owls in double figures with 18 points while Hooker and Masterson added 16 apiece.
 
The Highlanders captured both meetings during the 2015-16 campaign.

 
Give A Hoot
 
The Owls were held to just 32.0 shooting (16-of-50) from the floor and 27.3% (3-of-11) from beyond the arc in the 66-49 loss to Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday.
 
Hooker and Masterson had 11 points apiece to pace the Owls.
 
Kennesaw State has dropped four of their last five.
 
Sophomore guard James Scott leads the team and ranks fourth in the ASUN in scoring at 16.3 ppg, while Masterson (13.6 ppg) and Hooker (11.2) also average double figures for the Owls.
 
Masterson leads the ASUN in three-point shooting at 51.7% and fifth in field goal percentage (53.5%). Redshirt senior forward Jordan Jones sits fourth in field goal percentage at 53.6%.
 
Head coach Al Skinner is in his third season at the helm of the Owls after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant at Bryant.
 
A year ago, Skinner led the Owls to a Division I school record 14 wins and their first ever ASUN Tournament victory, an 80-78 win over USC Upstate.
 
Skinner previously served as the head coach at Rhode Island (1988-97) and Boston College (1997-2010).
 
During his tenure at BC, he led the Eagles to seven NCAA Tournament appearances and compiled a 247-165 record including seven 20-win seasons.
 
Scott's father, James Sr., played college basketball at St. John's.
 

NJIT Outlook
 
The Highlanders rallied late, but fell short in the 63-61 loss to Jacksonville on Saturday.
 
NJIT had chances to tie the game or take the lead in the final two minutes, but was unable to get over the hump.
 
Trailing 61-59, sophomore forward Anthony Tarke missed a potential go-ahead three with 1:15 to go.
 
A couple minutes earlier, Tarke drove through traffic and hit a layup with 3:05 left that tied the game at 59 apiece but Jacksonville's Jace Hogan quickly answered with a jumper on the other end.
 
Lewis notched his fifth double-double of the season with a game-high 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Highlanders. The Newark native was joined in double figures by junior guard Diandre Wilson (11 points) and Tarke (10 points, nine rebounds).
 
The double-double for Lewis was his first since Dec. 12 at Colgate.
 
Wilson has scored in double digits in three of his last four games and is averaging 10.8 ppg to go along with 60.0% shooting (9-of-15) from three-point range during the stretch.
 
NJIT features a balanced attack offensively with five players averaging more than 7.5 ppg: Tarke (14.3 ppg), Wilson (11.1 ppg), Lewis (10.2 ppg), freshman guard Shawndale Jones (7.6 ppg) and freshman guard Zach Cooks (7.6 ppg).
 
Lewis continues to lead the ASUN in rebounding at 8.4 boards per game.
 
With a win, the Highlanders will match its win total in league play from last year (3) with eight games remaining.