Game 2	at Binghamton Bearcats (0-1; 2017-18: 11-20, 2-14 AE)
Date | Time	Friday, Nov. 9, 2018 | 8 p.m.
Location | Arena	Vestal, NY | Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center
Tickets	Online | (607) 777-BTIX (2849)
Live Video	ESPN+ | TBD
Live Stats	In-game statistics (free)
All-time series	NJIT, 1-0 (0-0 at Division-I level)
Game Notes	NJIT Notes | Binghamton Game Note

 

VESTAL, NY – The Highlanders will compete in their first game road game off the season when they travel to play Binghamton University on Friday. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center.
 
NJIT started the season by recording just their third win in an opener since transitioning to Division-I in 2006 – and put up quite the fight to earn it in an 81-78 overtime victory against Colgate (0-1).
 
Trailing, 76-75, with 1:32 remaining in overtime, senior Diandre Wilson was fouled on a three-point conversion and was able to complete a game-winning, four-point play. The Raiders had a chance to force an additional session, but senior Francisco Amiel missed a highly contested three-pointer at the buzzer.
 
Senior Reilly Walsh led all scorers with a career-high 21 points. Sophomores Zach Cooks (19 points) and San Antonio Brinson (14 points) both finished one point shy of their career highs for scoring.
 
The Highlanders persevered despite playing without All-Conference selection Abdul Lewis.
 
With a win Friday, the Highlanders will start 2-0 for the first time since their inaugural season in Division-I in 2006-07. The last time NJIT started 3-0 was when it won four-straight affairs to open the 1996-97 season – its last at the Division-III level.
 
NJIT is coming off a 14-16 season in which the Highlanders captured fourth place in the ASUN. Head Coach Brian Kennedy is back for a third season and returns 10 players -- including four starters and five seniors -- from a season ago. In fact, the team returns 76.2% of its scoring and 81.1% of its minutes played from 2017-18.
 
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+. A simple way to find ESPN+ is on NJIT's official athletics website, www.njithighlanders.com. Near the middle of the home page under the headlines section, an upcoming events calendar lists scheduled NJIT contests. After finding the event, click the camera icon to the left of the event listing. That brings you to an ESPN+ portal where you can access the desired program.
 
All-Time Series

NJIT leads the all-time series with BU, 1-0. However, the lone meeting came at the D-III level during the 1982-83 season – when the Highlanders eked out a 74-72 victory.
 
All-time, NJIT is 14-20 against America East opponents. Last season, the Highlanders went 1-0 with a 78-65 home win over UMass Lowell on Dec. 3, 2017.
 
Additional, they've won their last four last contests with the conference dating back to an 86-83 home win over UMBC on Jan. 2, 2016. The span includes an additional victory over UMass Lowell and one at Stony Brook.
 
Bearing Down on Binghamton

The Bearcats have started 0-1 after an 86-75 home loss to Cornell on Tuesday.
 
In a game that featured 12 second-half lead changes, BU held a three-point lead at 69-66 with 7:44 left to play. Fueled by senior guard Matt Morgan, Cornell closed out on a 20-6 run – which included a span of 13 consecutive points – for the road victory. Morgan finished with a career-high 38 points
 
Despite the defeat, BU freshman guard Sam Sessoms tallied a team-high 27 points (12-for-20 FG) in his collegiate debut. A Philadelphia native, Sessoms scored over 2,000 points at The Shipley School and was named First-Team All-State after averaging 28.8 points as a senior.
 
The Bearcats shot 42.3-percent from the floor, but finished just 6-for-17 from the free-throw line. They were also outrebounded, 42-32.
 
BU was picked to finish sixth in the nine-team conference in the America East preseason poll after finishing 11-20 (2-14 in AE) in 2017-18.
 
In revamp mode, the Bearcats welcomed in their largest recruiting class with six freshmen, a Division-I transfer and a JuCo transfer. BU lost seven players who accounted for 35-percent of scoring from a season ago.
 
The Bearcats do return their top two scorers in grad student J.C. Show, who averaged 13.8 ppg last season, and senior center Thomas Bruce (11.1 ppg), a two-time America East All-Defensive Team. Last season, the 6-foot-9 Bruce led the league with 61 blocks and ranked second in rebounding at 8.8 rpg.
 
Head coach Tommy Dempsey is in his seventh season at BU (47-139) after a seven-year stint at Rider University – where he went a combined 119-105, won a 2008 MAAC Championship, was named 2008 MAAC Coach of the Year and guided three trips to national postseason tournaments.
 
Prior, the 44-year-old took two different Pennsylvania schools to the NJCAA Final Four (Lackawanna College, Keystone College).
 
As a player, Dempsey was a three-year letterwinner and team captain at Susquehanna before graduating in 1997.
 
The Highlanders next play at the WEC on Sunday, when they host Brown University at 2 p.m. Full season ticket packages, mini plans and group outings are available for purchase now at www.NJITTix.com. For more information, please call our ticket office via phone at 973-596-5555 or email at tickets@njit.edu.