PHOTO GALLERY

HIGHLIGHTS

POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The NJIT Highlanders (21-12, 8-8 ASUN) fell in the ASUN Championship semifinals to the Lipscomb Bisons (25-6, 14-2 ASUN) at Allen Arena on Thursday night, 78-55.

Senior Diandre Wilson led the team in scoring with 13 points followed by Zach Cooks with 10 points.

Abdul Lewis recorded his 1,000^th career NCAA rebound in the second half, ending the game with seven points and six boards in the effort.

"We didn't play our best basketball tonight, but kudos to Lipscomb," head coach Brian Kennedy said. "They really got on us early and we just tried to hang around…you just want to give yourself an opportunity at the end of the game and towards the end we let it slip away."

Both teams came out of the gates firing, trading baskets on the opening five possessions of the game until Lipscomb opened up a gap with a 9-0 run.

NJIT kept pace thanks to three pointers from Lewis and two from Donovan Greer off the bench, who finished the game 3-4 from the perimeter for nine points.

Cooks scored seven-consecutive points for NJIT to trim Lipscomb's lead to five with 4:30 remaining.

Mohamed Bendary buried a jumper and a Diandre Wilson three pointer at the one-minute mark kept the Highlanders in range of Lipscomb, who finished the half hitting 4-5 field goals to take an 11-point lead into the locker room, 48-37.

The second half started slowly for both teams, who both recorded just one field goal in the opening four minutes.

The trend continued for the Highlanders, who shot just 26% from the field in the final 20 minutes.

Lipscomb's offensive rebounding created plenty of second-chance scoring for the Bisons, who outrebounded NJIT on offense, 11-3, and outscored the Highlanders 11-0 in second-chance points.

An NJIT scoring drought lasted for more than four minutes midway through the half, allowing the Bisons to pull away until Shawndale Jones ended the spell with a physical bucket in the paint as NJIT's defense responded holding Lipscomb scoreless for two minutes.

At the 6:55 mark, Lewis, who entered the game battling a knee injury, pulled in his sixth rebound of the game to reach 1,000 career NCAA rebounds.

"Abdul Lewis had an MCL issue, but he still played 34 minutes tonight," Kennedy said. "We give him a ton of credit for being out there. He wasn't 100%."

Wilson drained a three pointer with five minutes remaining to trim the deficit to 12, but it would be NJIT's final points of the night.

Lipscomb ended the game on an 11-0 run to advance to the ASUN Championship and eliminate the Highlanders from the tournament.