Game 6	at Wagner College (2-2; 23-10, 14-4 NEC in 2017-18)
Date | Time	Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018 | 7 p.m.
Location | Arena	Staten Island, NY | Spiro Sports Center
Tickets	Wagner Tickets | 718-420-4039
Live Video	NEC Front Row | Joey Wahler  (PBP)
Live Stats	In-game statistics (free)
All-time series	NJIT, 16-4 (2-2 as Division-I opponents)
Game Notes	NJIT Notes | Wagner Notes

 

(NEWARK, NJ) – The Highlanders look to bounce back from their first loss of the year with a formidable opponent on Tuesday. NJIT travels to Staten Island for a 7 p.m. tip against Wagner College, the reigning Northeast Conference regular-season champions.
 
The Highlanders (4-1) also have a score to settle with the Seahawks (2-2), who spoiled the grand opening of the Wellness and Events Center (WEC) with a 60-49 season-opening win on Nov. 11, 2017.
 
NJIT started the season by becoming the first team in the nation to reach three NCAA Division-I wins and later improved to 4-0 for the first time since the program competed at the D-III level in 1995-96.
 
However, Cornell University (3-2) halted the streak with an 86-73 win in Newark on Sunday. The Big Red shot a blazing 64-percent (32-for-50) from the floor and 45-percent (9-for-20) from beyond the arc in coasting to victory. The Highlanders had entered the day having held opponents to just 58.8 points per game and to a 37-percent shooting percentage -- both which ranked second in the ASUN and placed 33rd and 78th in the nation, respectively.
 
The defeat spoiled the return of ASUN preseason All-Conference selection Abdul Lewis, who finished with four points and four rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.
 
Guard play continued to be the bright spot for NJIT, as the starting backcourt duo of junior Shyquan Gibbs and sophomore Zach Cooks both set career-highs with 25 points apiece -- combining to score 50 (68%) of NJIT's 73 points. In fact, the pair posted 29 (41%) of the Highlanders' 73 points on Wednesday against Kean in a game they were again the team's top two scorers.
 
Cooks leads the team in scoring at 15.6 points per game – a figure that is tied for fourth in ASUN standings. Despite his five-foot-nine stature, the Lawrenceville, Ga., native also leads the team in rebounding (5.4 rpg). Not as surprising, the 2018 ASUN All-Freshman selection leads the team in steals (2.8 spg) after finishing sixth (1.6) a season ago.
 
Senior Diandre Wilson (14.0 ppg) ranks second on the team in scoring while Gibbs has averaged 20.0 ppg over the last two contests to bump up to 12.0 for the season.
 
With a win, third-year head coach Brian Kennedy will see his 100^th victory since his arrival to NJIT as top assistant under Jim Engles in 2012-13.
 
All-Time Series
 
This is NJIT's 21st all-time meeting with Wagner, although the first 16 games were played between 1926-1940. Despite the loss last season, NJIT holds a 16-4 advantage.
 
More relevant, the series is tied, 2-2, since both schools began competing at the Division-I level. Prior to last year, the two teams previously met twice during the 2009-10 season – with the Highlanders earning a 56-51 home win on Nov. 24, 2009, and a 65-56 road victory on Dec. 28, 2009
 
NJIT is 15-12 all-time vs. Northeast Conference opponents after sporting a 2-1 record last season. After their loss to the Seahawks, the Highlanders went on for a 73-69 home victory over LIU Brooklyn (Nov. 28) and a 71-68 home win against Fairleigh Dickinson (Dec. 16).
 
Seeing Seahawks
 
Last year, Wagner won the NEC regular season with a record of 21-8 (14-4 NEC). They eventual fell in the conference championship game to fourth-seeded LIU Brooklyn, 71-61. The Seahawks followed that up with a first-round loss in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) to top-seeded Baylor University, 80-59.
 
In sum, Wagner won 16 of 17 home games in 2017-18 (a program record for home victories) and rattled off a program-best, 16-game winning streak prior to the NEC Championship Game. The streak was tied for the second-longest in the NCAA last year. The Seahawks also boasted the NEC's top scoring defense (68.3 ppg) and field-goal percentage defense (.407).
 
However, the team suffered a list of key departures that includes All-NEC First-Team guard JoJo Cooper as well as leading scorer Blake Francis, a Second-Team All-League choice who transferred to University of Richmond. Francis tallied a game-high 22 points in the opener in Newark last season.

This season, the Seahawks were predicted to finish fourth in the NEC preseason poll.
 
Senior Romone Saunders, Wagner's leading returning scorer (14.3 ppg), has picked up some of the slack by averaging a team-best average of 17.3 ppg through the first four affairs. He did not face NJIT a season ago after missing the first seven games due to injury.
 
Senior Elijah Davis has been a spark off the bench, providing the Seahawks' second-best scoring average at 14.0 ppg.
 
Senior AJ Sumbry, who played part of his high school career at Newark's St. Benedict's Prep, is third on the team at 12.5 ppg while leading the squad at 9.5 rpg.
 
Sophomore Tyler Plummer, Wagner's only other double-digit scorer (11) at the WEC last season, is only averaging 2.3 ppg so far in 2018-19.
 
Seventh-year head coach Bashir Mason won his second NEC Coach of the Year award last season, and has now guided the Seahawks to NEC regular-season titles and subsequent NIT berths in two of the last three campaigns.
 
Mason, who is currently the sixth-youngest head coach in Division I at 34-years old, entered 2018-19 with a 110-79 overall record -- becoming the fastest Seahawk head coach to hit the century mark in wins. His .582 winning percentage is the highest among the 10 NEC programs. In conference games, Mason owns a 70-36 (.660) record, which is also the highest during this six-year span.
 
During his playing career, Mason scored a total of 1,126 points as a point guard at Drexel University and led the Dragons in assists and steals during each of his four years. Upon graduation, he ranked second all-time in thefts (226) and fourth in helpers (471).