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PROVIDENCE, RI - The NJIT men's basketball team suffered a 76-47 setback to host Providence on Saturday at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. 

Turnovers plagued the Highlanders (0-2) in the first half, as NJIT gave the ball away 14 times before halftime and the Friars (2-0) made them pay, jumping out to a 34-19 advantage after 20 minutes.

NJIT was able to close the gap early in the second half, cutting the deficit to nine, 37-28, on a Zach Cooks three-pointer at the 15:55 mark.

The Friars answered NJIT's run with 16 straight points, holding the Highlanders scoreless for more than seven minutes.

Levar Williams snapped the run with a three-pointer to make the score 53-31 with just under nine minutes on the clock. 

Providence's lead increased to a game-high 31 in the final minute, before Byron Breland III's first-career basket made the final score 76-47.

Cooks scored a game-high 22 points to pace NJIT for the second-straight game. Souleymane Diakite led the Highlanders in both rebounds (eight) and assists (four) while playing a career-high 36 minutes.

David Duke was Providence's top scorer, tallying 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Alpha Diallo finished with a double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 boards.

NJIT will look to get in the win column on Wednesday when it wraps up its season-opening, three-game road trip at Cornell. Tip-off against the Big Red is slated for 7pm in Ithaca, NY.