Video: NJIT Highlights

Newark, NJ - The NJIT men's basketball team opened its season on Thursday evening at the Wellness and Events Center, falling to visiting Merrimack 61-54 in front of 500+ fans.

Matt Faw opened the game with a jumper on the opening possession to put the Highlanders (0-1) up 2-0, but Merrimack (2-0) answered with a 15-2 run to go ahead 15-4 and never looked back en route to the victory.

NJIT was able to cut the deficit to six on another jumper from Faw with 54 seconds left in the opening half, but a pair of three-pointers from the Warriors in the final minute made the score 35-23 as the teams entered their locker rooms for halftime. 

Merrimack hit 8-of-15 first half three-point attempts, while the Highlanders couldn't drain any of their seven from beyond the arc. One bright spot for the Highlanders in the opening half was Miles Coleman, who scored 13 of NJIT's 23 points, which was already a new career high for the senior, who transferred into the Highlanders' program last season, but only played in nine games due to injury. 

The Warriors picked up where they left off after halftime, scoring the first five points of the second half to go ahead 40-23. 

NJIT didn't go away however, cutting the margin to as little as seven several times late in the half and five, 59-54, in the final seconds. 

The Highlanders bounced back from their three-point shooting struggles after halftime, making 6-of-14 (42.9%) from long range after halftime. Coleman and Antwuan Butler each made two of those, while Faw and O'Hearn drained one apiece. 

Coleman led all scorers with 19 points and also finished with six rebounds, as did teammates Mekhi Gray, James Lee, and O'Hearn. The Highlanders out-rebounded the Warriors 40-23, including 13-1 on the offensive glass. 

Butler (11 points) and O'Hearn (10 points) joined Coleman in double figures for the Highlanders, who played in front of their home fans for the first time in 628 days after playing in an empty arena last season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

Faw, a graduate transfer, finished with seven points in his NJIT debut, while Lee, a junior college transfer scored four in his. Eyal Nankin and Keeshawn Mason also saw the court for the first time in the Highlander uniform on Thursday.

NJIT returns back to action on Saturday, when it travels across the Delaware River to take on Lehigh. Tip-off is slated for 7pm in Bethlehem and the game can be viewed on ESPN+.