NJIT GAME NOTES (PDF)


NEWARK, NJ – The NJIT Highlanders (12-13, 5-5 ASUN) look to move back above .500 in league play when Stetson (10-17, 2-8 ASUN) comes to the Wellness and Events Center (WEC) for a 4 p.m. tip.
 
NJIT is coming off a hard-fought 75-70 loss vs. first place Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday, while Stetson dropped a 91-79 decision at USC Upstate.
 
The game can be seen live on ESPN3 (all remaining NJIT basketball games can be seen on ESPN3).
 
A simple way to find ESPN3 is on NJIT's official athletics website, http://www.njithighlanders.com. Near the middle of the home page NJIT TV section, click Upcoming Events for a list of scheduled NJIT contests. After finding the event, click the camera icon to the right of the event listing. That brings you to an ESPN3 portal where you can access the desired program.
 
Matt Provence, the voice of the Highlanders, is on play-by-play with expert analysis from Dave Calloway.
 

All-Time Series
 
The all-time series is tied at three apiece after Stetson rallied for an 80-67 win at the Edmunds Center in DeLand, Fla., on Jan. 11.
 
In that contest, the Highlanders led 41-34 at halftime before the Hatters outscored the visitors 46-26 in the second half to complete the comeback win.
 
NJIT led 46-38 at the 17:11 mark of the second half before redshirt senior guard B.J. Glasford hit a three to kickstart a 28-8 run and open up a 66-54 advantage for Stetson.
 
Sophomore forward Anthony Tarke had a game-high 23 points to pace NJIT, while freshman guard Shawndale Jones added 11 points and junior guard Diandre Wilson chipped in with 10.
 
Senior guard Divine Myles led the Hatters with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, Glasford and junior guard/forward Leo Goodman came through with 15 apiece and senior guard Angel Rivera added 10.
 
In the last meeting in Newark, junior guard Reilly Walsh buried a three with 0:49 left and NJIT closed the game on a 20-7 run en route to a 60-56 victory on Feb. 18, 2017.
 
The two teams split a pair of meetings a year ago.
 
No. 7 seed Stetson picked up an 82-67 victory over No. 2 seed NJIT in the 2016 ASUN Quarterfinals.
 

Mad About The Hatters
 
Stetson trailed by 14 at halftime and shot just 6-of-26 (23.1%) from beyond the arc in the 91-79 loss at USC Upstate on Thursday.
 
The Hatters have dropped eight straight overall after a 2-1 start to league play.
 
Myles had 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting to pace head coach Corey Williams' squad and freshman forward Abayomi Iyiola was the only other Hatter in double figures with 10.
 
Myles leads the team and ranks third in the ASUN in scoring at 17.2 ppg, while Glasford checks in at 11.3 ppg and senior guard Luke Doyle averages 10.3 ppg.
 
Goodman ranks fifth in the ASUN in three-point percentage at 43.4%.
 
Williams is in his fifth season at the helm of the Hatters and led the 2015-16 squad to a berth in the ASUN Championship game before falling to Florida Gulf Coast in overtime.
 
He played his college basketball at Oklahoma State under legendary coach Eddie Sutton and finished his career ranked eighth in school history with 1,320 career points.
 
Williams was a second round selection of the Chicago Bulls in the 1992 NBA Draft and was also selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 12th round of the 1992 NFL Draft despite not playing football in high school or college.
 
The Macon, Ga., native was a member of the 1993 NBA Champions as the Bulls won their third straight title led by Michael Jordan.
 
During his coaching career, Williams spent time as an assistant at both Oral Roberts and Florida State.
 
Senior guard Matthew Cioce is a cousin of Temple head coach Fran Dunphy.
 
Senior forward Larry Dennis' father, Larry Sr., played college basketball at Northwestern.
 
Pegg's brother, Adam, was an all-conference player at Stetson from 2010-13.
 
Rivera's uncle, Walter Hodge, played basketball at Florida and was a member of the Gators' back-to-back national title teams in 2006 and 2007.
 

NJIT Outlook
 
In the 75-70 loss to FGCU on Thursday, the Highlanders erased a 13-point second half deficit and tied the game at 65 apiece with 4:02 to go before FGCU's Dinero Mercurius hit a three on the ensuing possession to give the Eagles the lead for good.
 
Junior forward Abdul Lewis had 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting to lead NJIT, while Tarke added 21 and freshman guard Zach Cooks came through with nine points off the bench.
 
Lewis, the reigning ASUN Player of the Week, has now scored 20 plus points in three straight and has hit all eight of three point attempts during that stretch. The Newark native is averaging 23.3 ppg and 10.0 rpg in his last three games.
 
For the season, Lewis is averaging 8.3 rpg, which ranks second in the ASUN.
 
Tarke has posted double digit points in seven straight and for the 22^nd time in 25 games this season. In his last seven games, Tarke is averaging 19.0 ppg.
 
The Highlanders feature a balanced attack offensively as four players average more than 8.0 ppg: Tarke (15.9 ppg), Lewis (12.0 ppg), Wilson (10.3 ppg) and Cooks (8.0 ppg). Tarke's 15.9 ppg ranks sixth in the ASUN.
 
With four games remaining in the regular season, NJIT is tied for fourth in the ASUN standings with North Florida after being picked to finish last in both the conference's coaches and media polls.


Write-up Courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry