NJIT GAME NOTES (PDF)


NEWARK, NJ – The NJIT Highlanders (10-12, 3-4 ASUN) look to move back to .500 in league play when the Kennesaw State Owls (6-15, 2-5 ASUN) come to the WEC for a Monday night tilt. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m.
 
NJIT is coming off a heartbreaking 86-79 overtime loss to Lipscomb, while Kennesaw State notched an 81-80 victory over USC Upstate.
 
This marks the second meeting in five days between the two teams after the Highlanders topped the Owls, 66-60 on Wednesday at the KSU Convocation Center.
 
The Highlanders are 9-4 at the WEC this season, but have dropped two straight in their new digs.
 
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
 
NJIT leads the all-time series by a 3-2 count after picking up the 66-60 victory on Wednesday at Kennesaw State.
 
Four of the five meetings have been decided by single digits.
 
On Wednesday at the KSU Convocation Center, the Highlanders led by as many as 15 in the second half before holding off a late rally from the Owls to preserve the victory.
 
NJIT led by three at halftime before starting the second half an 18-6 run.
 
Kennesaw State cut the lead to four at 62-58 in the final minute of the game.
 
Sophomore forward Anthony Tarke had a career-high 27 points to pace NJIT, while junior guards Reilly Walsh and Diandre Wilson came through with nine points apiece.
 
Senior guard Nick Masterson poured in 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting to lead the way for the Owls and was joined in double figures by sophomore guard James Scott (15 points) and junior guard Kyle Clarke (10 points).
 
In the most recent meeting in Newark on Jan. 30, 2017, 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.
 
Kennesaw State swept the season series a year ago after NJIT captured both contests during the 2015-16 campaign.

 
Give A Hoot
 
Sophomore forward Anthony Wilson hit a turnaround jumper with 1.4 seconds left to lift the Owls to the 81-80 win at USC Upstate on Saturday.
 
Kennesaw State trailed for a majority of the game and fell behind by as many as 13 in the second half before putting together a 29-15 run to close the game.
 
There were five lead changes in the final 2:30.
 
Wilson paced the Owls with a career-high 22 points, while Masterson came through with 16 of his own and redshirt sophomore guard Tyler Hooker delivered 11 points.
 
Scott leads the team and ranks sixth in the ASUN in scoring at 15.8 ppg. Masterson (14.0 ppg) and Hooker (10.9 ppg) also average double figures for Kennesaw State.
 
Masterson leads the ASUN in three-point shooting at 51.0% and sits fourth in field goal percentage (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
 
Lipscomb rallied in the second half and scored 11 of the 15 points in the extra session in the 86-79 overtime win over NJIT on Saturday afternoon at the WEC.
 
The Bison rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit and forced overtime with a 41-21 run in the second half.
 
Lipscomb scored the first five points of the extra session and the Highlanders would not get closer than three the rest of the way.
 
Tarke paced the Highlanders with 20 points (7-of-10 FT) and was joined in double figures by junior forward Abdul Lewis (16 points) and freshman guard Zach Cooks (14 points). Junior center Mohamed Bendary delivered eight points and nine rebounds.
 
Tarke has scored 20 plus points in four of his last seven games and is averaging 16.7 points per game during that stretch.
 
Lewis has posted double digit points in three of his last four and is averaging 12.0 ppg to go along with 7.5 rebounds per game in that span. On the year, the Newark native ranks second in the ASUN in rebounding at 8.2 rpg.
 
The 14 points for Cooks marked his third-highest total of the season and his seventh double-digit scoring output.
 
The Highlanders sit second in the ASUN in scoring defense at 72.2 ppg and have held four of the last five opponents to under 70 points.
 
Head coach Brian Kennedy's squad delivered 12 steals against Lipscomb and leads the ASUN in thefts at 8.5 spg, a total that ranks in the top 20 nationally.


Write-up Courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry