NJIT GAME NOTES (PDF)


NEWARK, NJ – The NJIT Highlanders (10-11, 3-3 ASUN) return home to host the Lipscomb Bison (13-8, 3-3 ASUN) on Saturday afternoon at the state-of-the-art Wellness and Events Center (WEC) in Newark. Opening tip is set for 4 p.m.
 
NJIT held off a late rally to pick up a 66-60 victory at Kennesaw State on Wednesday, while Lipscomb notched a 92-78 win over USC Upstate.
 
This is the first of two meetings in the next week between the two teams as the Highlanders and Bison will tussle in Nashville on Saturday, Feb. 3.
 
The Highlanders have won nine of 12 at the WEC 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.
 
Matt Provence, the voice of the Highlanders, is on play-by-play with expert analysis from Rob Kennedy.

 
All-Time Series
 
Lipscomb leads the all-time series by a 4-1 margin after winning all three meetings a year ago including an ASUN quarterfinal matchup.
 
On Feb. 27, 2017 in the ASUN Quarterfinals, the No. 2 seeded Bisons shot 61.3% from the floor en route to a 97-66 victory over the No. 7 seeded Highlanders at Allen Arena in Nashville. Lipscomb also shot 10-of-24 (41.7%) from beyond the arc.
 
The Bisons hit 15 of their first 20 shots from the floor and led 50-31 at halftime.
 
Sophomore forward Anthony Tarke paced NJIT with 21 points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Reilly Walsh added a then-career-high 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from deep and Rob Ukawuba chipped in with 11 points of his own. 
 
Junior guard Garrison Mathews had a game-high 30 on 11-of-15 shooting to lead the way offensively for the Bisons and was joined in double figures by junior forward Rob Marberry and junior forward Eli Pepper who added 14 apiece and senior guard Nathan Moran contributed 12 points.
 
In the last meeting in Newark on Jan. 28, 2017, NJIT put together a late rally and a three from Tarke tied the game at 57 apiece before Marberry hit a layup on the other end to give the visitors the lead for good with two minutes to play en route to a 66-62 Lipscomb win.
 
Junior forward Abdul Lewis posted a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Highlanders, Tarke added 15 of his own and sophomore guard Shyquan Gibbs hit 5-of-6 from the field en route to a career-high 14 points.
 
Mathews paced Lipscomb with 21 points and 10 rebounds while Moran added 14 points and Marberry chipped in with 12.
 
The two teams split a pair of meetings in 2015-16 with the Highlanders' lone win in the series coming in a 90-78 victory in Nashville on Feb. 1, 2016.

 
Bison Bites
 
Lipscomb shot 55.0% from the floor and built a 13-point halftime advantage en route to the 92-78 victory over USC Upstate on Wednesday night.
 
Marberry hit 10-of-12 from the field on his way to a game-high 24 points and was joined in double figures by sophomore guard Kenny Cooper (16 points), senior center George Brammeier (14 points) and Mathews (10 points, 11 rebounds).
 
Lipscomb has now won two straight after a 1-3 start to league play.
 
The Bisons are tied for second in the ASUN in scoring at 79.2 ppg, but shoot a league-worst 43.2% from the floor and 32.3% from beyond the arc.
 
Mathews leads the team and ASUN in scoring at 22.1 ppg, a total that is tied for 12^th in the nation. Marberry checks in at 14.0 ppg and ranks third in the league in field goal percentage (58.2%).
 
Head coach Casey Alexander is in his fourth season at the helm of the Bisons 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.
 
Freshman center Ahsan Abdullah's brother, Marcus, played college basketball at Georgia Tech and is currently a member of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves.

 
NJIT Outlook
 
The Highlanders held off a late Kennesaw State rally and converted four free throws in the final minute as part of the 66-60 victory over the Owls on Wednesday night at the KSU Convocation Center.
 
The Owls had cut the lead to four at 62-58 with 43 seconds to play.
 
Head coach Brian Kennedy's squad led by three at halftime and led by as many as 18 in the second half before Kennesaw State chipped away.
 
Tarke led NJIT with a career-high 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting and a game-high nine rebounds, while Walsh and junior guard Diandre Wilson came through with nine points apiece.
 
Tarke's previous career-high was 23 points, which had been done on three occasions including on Jan. 11 at Stetson.
 
The Gaithersburg, Md., native has scored 20 plus points in three of his last six games and has posted double digit points in 18 of his 21 games this season.
 
The 27 points is the most by a Highlanders player since Damon Lynn poured in 33 on Jan. 14, 2017 vs. North Florida.
 
With the win, NJIT matched its ASUN win total (3) from a year ago and notched their first road win since a 64-61 victory at Stony Brook on Dec. 28, 2016.
 
NJIT has now held each of their last four opponents under 70 points and ranks second in the ASUN in scoring defense (71.5 ppg).
 
Offensively, Tarke leads the team in scoring at 14.9 ppg and ranks second in rebounding at 6.1 boards per game. Lewis leads the team and is tied for the ASUN lead in rebounding at 8.2 rpg.


Write-up Courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry