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Newark, NJ - Five players scored in double figures as the NJIT men's basketball team rolled to an 88-69 victory over visiting Wagner in their home opener on Saturday at the WEC.

NJIT shot a season-high 50.9% from the field and 43.5& from three-point range, while only turning the ball over four times, which marked a new season-low.

After trailing at halftime in each of their first three games this season, the Highlanders (2-2) wasted no time, using a 14-0 early run to race out to a comfortable lead against the Seahawks (1-3) in front of 1255 fans.

"We've been preaching to get off to a good start and we did just that," said Head Coach Brian Kennedy. "Our guys brought some fantastic energy and it started with our defense."

The 14-0 run was bookended by a pair of Zach Cooks three-pointers and helped turn a 4-2 deficit into a 16-4 lead for the hosts.

Wagner was able to answer the NJIT run and cut the margin to four, 18-14, but that was as close as they'd get as the Highlanders increased their lead to 37-23 at halftime.

In the second half, NJIT led by as many as 28 before the Seahawks were able close the margin to 19 by the time the final buzzer sounded.

Cooks led all scorers with a game-high 21 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists while Diego Willis came off the bench to score a career-high 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Souleymane Diakite nearly missed out on a second-straight double-double with 10 points and nine bounds as Shyquan Gibbs and San Antonio Brinson also finished in double figures, scoring 11 and 10 points respectively. 

Four NJIT freshmen combined to score 20 points off the bench with Byron Breland III leading the way at seven points. Levar Williams scored six points, while Xavier Mayo (four points) and Caleb Matthews (three points) each scored their first collegiate points. 

The Highlanders will look to make it three-straight wins on Wednesday when they host Binghamton at 7pm in the WEC.