NJIT Highlights vs. USC Upstate

NEWARK, NJ—USC Upstate's A'Lexxus Davis and Riley Popplewell scored a game-best 17 points to lead four double-figure scorers for the visiting Spartans en route to a 95-57 victory over NJIT in the ASUN Conference opener Saturday afternoon at the Wellness and Events Center.

USC Upstate, winners of its last two, picks up its first ASUN win of the season, improving to 6-10 on the season while the Highlanders fall to 2-14 overall and 0-1 in the league.

Popplewell shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and grabbed four rebounds while Davis, who scored 17 points in 16 minutes, combined for 7-for-8 from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line, including a game-best six rebounds.

Morgan Williams added 14 points while Anda Kuzmina chipped in 13 points for the Spartans.  Guard Brittney Delva dished out a game-high five assists and added eight points.

NJIT's Tatianna Torres and Kelly Guarino paced the Highlanders with 10 points apiece while Amarri Trueheart added nine points.  Freshman Dez Allen came off the bench to score seven points and grab seven rebounds in 19 minutes of action.

USC Upstate opened the game on an 11-4 lead into the first media timeout and used a 10-2 spurt to close out the quarter with a 21-7 advantage.  After the first 10 minutes of action, the Spartans shot an impressive 64.3 percent (9-for-14) from the field.

NJIT cut the Spartan lead down to 17, 37-20, after a pair of three-pointers by Kelly Guarino with 3:36 left to play in the second quarter.  The Highlanders pulled within 15, 41-24, after four consecutive points by Dez Allen but the Spartans ended the half on a 6-2 run for a 47-28 halftime lead.

USC Upstate's Morgan Williams led all scorers at the half with 11 points and five rebounds while NJIT's Guarino came off the bench to score 10 points on 3-of-4 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point range.

The Spartans kept its momentum into the second half, using an 11-4 run to start the third quarter, extending its lead to 58-32 just under the five-minute media timeout and extended its lead to 29, 72-43 to end the third quarter.

USC Upstate scored 24 fourth-quarter points and cruised to a 95-57 victory.

For the game, USC Upstate shot 67.2 percent from the field (39-58) and 80 percent from the free throw line (12-15) while the Highlanders shot 27 percent (17-63) from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line (20-25).

NJIT will make its first ASUN Conference road trip of the season next weekend first, visiting FGCU on Saturday at 4pm and Stetson on January 15 at 1pm.