Box Score

NJIT GAME HIGHLIGHTS (VIDEO)

BRINSON PROVIDES PLAY OF GAME (VIDEO)


JACKSONVILLE, FL – Sophomore Ivan Gandia-Rosa scored a game-high 23 points as University of North Florida defeated NJIT, 86-75, in a significant contest at UNF Arena on Saturday.
 
With the win, the Ospreys moved into a tie for third place in the ASUN, while the Highlanders fell back to a tie for fifth place. With one game remaining in the regular season, NJIT can still clinch a home game in the quarterfinals of the 2018 ASUN Tournament with a road win at USC Upstate on Thursday.
 
Meanwhile, UNF (7-6) will square off in a monumental showdown against inner-city rival Jacksonville (7-6) with a home postseason game on the line.
 
Sophomore Anthony Tarke and junior Abdul Lewis both finished with a team-high 20 points while posting double-doubles in the losing effort. Tarke led the Highlanders with game-highs in rebounds (11) and assists (5) while the latter grabbed 10 boards.
 
UNF had three other double-digit scorers in addition to Gandia-Rosa, as senior Osborn Blount netted a career-high 17 points on Senior Night, sophomore Garrett Sams tallied 15 and freshman Noah Horchler contributed 11 with a team-high seven rebounds. Blount's prior career-high was 16 points against Florida National on Jan. 2, 2018.
 
The Highlanders remain winless in three all-time trips to UNF Arena. Yet, whereas the previous two games were decided by an average of 29.0 points per game, this one had a different script.
 
A much tighter contest this time around, the Ospreys may have cemented the win right out of the halftime break.
 
After the Highlanders rallied from nine back to tie the score at half, UNF scored the first 12 points of the second half. Five came from Sams and four were from Gandia-Rosa, forcing NJIT Head Coach Brian Kennedy to call an early timeout.
 
In a span of just 2:24, the Highlanders found themselves trailing, 51-39.
 
As typical with this young, feisty NJIT squad, the Highlanders refused to go away.
 
Down 67-55 with 10:59 to go, Lewis scored off an offensive rebound to jump-start a 7-0 Highlanders run. The Newark native, who entered leading the ASUN and ranking 46^th in the nation in offensive rebounding (3.0), finished with a game-high six offensive boards.
 
During the stretch, NJIT also used a three-pointer from freshman Zach Cooks and a layup by freshman Shawndale Jones to cut the deficit to 67-62 with 8:14 remaining.
 
However, the home team responded with an old-fashioned, three-point play from Sams and iced the contest with a 19-13 spurt from that point on.
 
The Ospreys shot the ball incredibly well on their home court, finishing at 50.9-percent (29-57) from the floor, 47.6-percent (10-21) from deep and 75.0-percent (18-24) from the line. A key component of their 47-36, second-half edge was connecting on 5-of-6 three-pointers after the break.
 
Meanwhile, the Highlanders shot 42.6-percent (29-69) from the floor, 39.1-percent (9-23) from downtown and 72.7-percent (8-11) from the stripe.
 
The teams were even in turnovers, 10-10; and UNF's hot shooting helped Head Coach Matthew Driscoll's squad overcome NJIT's 39-34 rebounding advantage.
 
After a bit of a sluggish start, NJIT went on a roll into halftime to tie the game, 39-39.
 
NJIT fell behind by a then game-high nine points at 32-23 with 7:06 remaining in the first stanza. Perhaps that awoke the Highlanders, who followed with a 7-0 run and outscored the Ospreys, 16-7, into the break.
 
Junior Donovan Greer lit the spark. After a made free-throw by Tarke, Greer nailed a pair of triples in a span of 31 seconds to pull NJIT within two points at 32-30 at the 4:29 mark. Lewis then scored on a pair of field goals, the second of which came on a put-back with seconds remaining to even the score.
 
It was the first time the Highlanders drew even with the Ospreys since the 11:38 mark, when Gandia-Rosa hit a jumper to give UNF a 20-19 lead.
 
Gandia-Rosa led all scorers at the half with 12 points, fueled by a pair of treys. Lewis netted 10 to pace NJIT, while Tarke went into the locker room with nine points and eight rebounds.
 
For Lewis, the double-double was the eighth of the season and 13^th of his career. He entered the affair ranked second in the ASUN in the category. Over his last seven games, he is now averaging 20.1 ppg and 9.7 rpg while shooting .610 (47-77) from the floor and .667 (8-12) from beyond the arc.
 
For Tarke, the double-double was his second double-double of the season and fifth of his career. The Gaithersburg, Md., native has now reached the 20-point plateau nine times this season and is averaging 17.7 ppg over his last 10 affairs.
 
The loss left NJIT short in its bid to win four-consecutive road games for the first time in program history. The Highlanders wound up splitting the season series with UNF, 1-1, after a 91-59 victory in the first meeting of the year on Jan. 18 in Newark.
 
As mentioned above, the Highlanders will wrap-up the regular season at Upstate in another important bout against the Spartans (2-11, 7-23) from the Hodge Center on Thursday, Feb. 22. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
NJIT and Upstate haven't squared off since the ASUN conference opener, when the Highlanders disposed of the Spartans, 98-87, at the Wellness and Events Center in Newark on Jan. 6.
 
However, NJIT is 0-2 all-time in Spartanburg – losing 72-71 at the buzzer on Feb. 25, 2016, and 75-65 in the 2017 ASUN opener on Jan. 7.
 
No matter the result, the Spartans are locked into the eighth seed in the conference tournament.