VIDEO: NJIT Highlights | Postgame Interviews | Raff Report 

NEWARK, NJ - The NJIT men's basketball team avenged last month's loss to Stetson, defeating the Hatters 78-69 in ASUN Conference action at the Wellness and Events Center.

NJIT (8-18, 5-8 ASUN) ended a five-game losing streak with the win, which also put an end to Stetson's (15-13, 9-3 ASUN) four-game winning streak. The Hatters entered Thursday 8-1 in their last nine games.

"I think we played well in our last game at Liberty and it prepared us for this one," said Head Coach Brian Kennedy. "We had a great 35 minutes against Stetson last time out and we were ready for this one."

Stetson scored the opening basket, but the lead was very short lived as Shyquan Gibbs answered with a three-pointer to begin an 8-0 NJIT run and the Highlanders led for the final 39-plus minutes.

The NJIT lead reached as many as 14 in the first half, but Stetson was able to get within 10, 34-24, at halftime. 

"I liked the way we moved the ball and shared the ball in the first half," added Kennedy. "We had nine assists and just one turnover in the first 20 minutes."

The Hatters cut the lead to six less than four minutes into the second half before the Highlanders answered with another 8-0 run to go ahead by 14 with 12:49 to play.

NJIT's lead was 64-51 with 2:16 on the clock, but the Hatters didn't go away and eventually cut the deficit to just four with 49 seconds to play.

Diego Willis answered with a pair of free throws and the Highlanders shot 9-for-10 at the foul line down the stretch to preserve their first victory in the last six games.

Zach Cooks led all scorers with 25 points and the 5'9 guard also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Cooks' big game wasn't just in the scoring and rebounding columns as NJIT's junior captain also dished out a game-high four assists and collected a game-best four steals.

Gibbs (12 points), Reilly Walsh (11 points) and Levar Williams (10 points) also finished in double figures as NJIT scored its most points since it also scored 78 in a 12-point win at North Florida in early January.

Christaan Jones led three Hatters in double figures with 19 points.

The Highlanders will look to make it two in a row on Saturday when they host Florida Gulf Coast at 4pm back at the WEC. NJIT will honor Gibbs, its lone senior, in the program's annual Senior Day Ceremony prior to tip-off.

"We are right in the mix," concluded Kennedy. "We'll be ready for FGCU on Saturday."