NJIT GAME HIGHLIGHTS (VIDEO) 

THE RAFF REPORT: POSTGAME ANALYSIS


NEWARK, NJ – For the second straight game, the NJIT Highlanders (12-14, 5-6 ASUN) erased a double-digit deficit in the second half, but fell short in an 84-80 loss to the Stetson Hatters (11-17, 3-8 ASUN) on Saturday afternoon at the Wellness and Events Center (WEC) in Newark.
 
NJIT trailed by as many as 19 in the second half before putting together a 26-8 run that was capped by a Mohamed Bendary layup at the 3:01 mark that brought the hosts within one at 76-75.
 
Luke Doyle answered for Stetson with a jumper on the other end that stretched the lead back to three.
 
Trailing 82-77 in the final minute, NJIT's Zach Cooks buried a three with 0:39 left to cut the lead to a pair at 82-80. On the ensuing possession with the shot clock winding down, Angel Rivera knifed through the line for the Hatters and hit a floater with 0:11 left to preserve the win for the visitors.
 
Stetson led for a large majority of the afternoon and seemingly had an answer for every run that NJIT made over the course of the game.
 
In the early going of the second half with Stetson holding a nine-point lead at 54-45, B.J. Glasford hit a layup to kickstart a 14-4 run that was capped by a Divine Myles jumper which resulted in the largest lead of the game for the Hatters at 68-49 with 10:15 to play.
 
Cooks, a freshman, had a career-high 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting to pace the Highlanders and was joined in double figures by junior forward Abdul Lewis (18 points, 13 rebounds), junior guard Donovan Greer (career-high 12 points) and sophomore guard Shyquan Gibbs (11 points).
 
The 21 points for Cooks surpassed his previous career-high of 17 on Nov. 22 vs. Kean and the 12 points for Greer surpassed his previous career-best of 11 points on Feb. 4, 2017 at Lipscomb.
 
The double-double for Lewis marks his seventh of the season.
 
Doyle and Glasford led the Hatters with 17 points apiece as all five starters scored in double figures. Rivera and Abayomi Iyiola chipped in with 12 apiece, while Myles added 11 points of his own.
 
The Hatters shot well throughout the course of the afternoon as head coach Corey Williams' squad hit 58.6% (34-of-58) from the field and 52.9% (9-of-17) from deep. NJIT sank 50.9% (28-of-55) from the floor and 41.7% (10-of-24) from beyond the arc.
 
In the early stages of the game, Stetson held a 6-5 lead before hitting four threes as part of a 14-0 run to open up a 20-5 advantage with 14:23 left in the opening stanza.
 
The Highlanders trailed by double digits for the remainder of the first half, but put together a late run to cut the lead to 10 at 47-37 heading into the locker room.
 
NJIT looks to bounce back on Thursday night when they hit the road to battle Jacksonville (12-16, 6-5 ASUN). Opening tip from Swisher Gym in Jacksonville is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on ESPN3.


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry