WATCH: Brian Kennedy Previews Quinnipiac vs. NJIT

NJIT's historic season is getting an encore.

The Highlanders accepted their third bid for the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) and will host Quinnipiac in the First Round on Monday night.

TICKETS: Quinnipiac vs. NJIT | CIT First Round | Monday, March 18, 7 p.m.

For the coaches, players and the program, the opportunity to play postseason basketball was well deserved.

"It's an honor and a privilege to be playing at this time of year," head coach Brian Kennedy said. "That means you had a really good season, you're one of the better teams in the country. It's a reward for how much hard work and dedication the kids put in for the year."

PREVIEW: NJIT Hosts Quinnipiac in First Round of CIT

The Highlanders' hard work earned them the most regular season wins in program history (20), tied the best record in their D-I era (21-12), featured the most road wins in school history (11) and earned their first ever ASUN Championship win in the quarterfinals.

Individually, Abdul Lewis (First Team All-Conference), Zach Cooks (Second Team-All Conference), Shyquan Gibbs (All-Academic Team) and Diandre Wilson (All-Tournament Team) all received ASUN honors this season.

Coach Kennedy credits the team's success to its "Every Day," mentality and stable approach in game preparation – "defense, rebounding and executing on offense."

"Our motto has been 'Every Day,'" Kennedy said. "Bringing your lunch pail and your hard hat every single day and consistency is what we're about. We want to come out and give good effort on Monday night and be consistent."

Quinnipiac presents a new challenge for the Highlanders who have not faced a MAAC opponent this season.

The Bobcats finished in fifth place of the MAAC and boasts some of the best three-point shooting in the country (4^th in 3FGM in NCAA), led by senior Cameron Young who averages 23.3 points per game.

NJIT, which ranks third in the ASUN in three-point field goal defense (33%), will need a strong defensive effort at the Wellness and Events Center on Monday.

"They're a very talented team offensively," Kennedy said. "We've got to guard their three and guard the dribble - don't let them get paint touches and we've got to rebound and offensively we need to execute.

"[Cameron] Young is one of the best scorers in the country, Rick Kelly is a terrific shooter on the perimeter…it's going to take a great effort from us to compete with them."

First Round CIT tickets for Quinnipiac versus NJIT on Monday, March 18 are available on www.NJITtix.com.