NEWARK, NJ--The NJIT men's basketball team returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts UMBC in America East Conference play.
Game Information
Tipoff is slated for 7pm at the Wellness and Events Center on the NJIT campus in Newark. The game will also be streamed via ESPN+, with Matt Provence and Rob Kennedy on the call.
NJIT Attendance Policy
Please note that NJIT has updated its attendance policy,
which can be access here.
All-Time Series
Wednesday's matchup is the fifth all-time between the Highlanders and Retreivers, with the three being played in Newark. NJIT won series opener in 2015, defeating UMBC by 15, while each of the other three games were within four points or less. The teams split last season's series in Newark, with NJIT winning game one 69-65, and the Retrievers taking game two 75-71.
NJIT vs. the America East
NJIT is 24-34 in America East Conference play. The Highlanders are in their second season as a member of the conference and went 15-23 against AE teams before joining the league in the summer of 2020. Last season, the Highlanders finished 6-10 in AE action.
QUICK HITS
* Wednesday's game is the 14th of the 2021-22 season -- which marks NJIT's 16th participating in Division I, second as a member of the America East and fifth in the Wellness & Events Center (WEC).
* NJIT is playing its fourth game in 10 days, following a 21-day layoff after its non-conference finale at Northwestern.
* The Highlanders opened up America East play with three-straight wins. It is their second three-game winning streak of the season and marks the first time the program opened conference play 3-0 since they did so in the Great West in 2012-13.
* Dylan O'Hearn (16.9 ppg; 2nd) and Miles Coleman (16.8 ppg; 3rd) both rank among the top scorers in the America East. Coleman (6.5 rpg) is also sixth on the rebounding leaderboard.
* Coleman's career-high coming into the season was 12; he is passed that mark nine times this season, with four games of 20+, including his new career-high of 30 at UML last time out.
* O'Hearn scored a D1 program-record 42 points in a 2OT win at Lafayette on 12/5. Thirty-six of those points came after halftime and he scored all 15 of NJIT's points after regulation.
* While, O'Hearn was the hero of that win, plenty of other Highlanders deserve credit. Antwuan "Booty" Butler calmly drained two free throws with 2.7 seconds left to tie the game and force OT. Kjell de Graff and Mekhi Gray both played 35+ minutes for season-highs and were +22 and +21 respectively.
* James Lee is second in the America East in steals (2.3) and 10th in blocks (0.9). His seven steals at St. John's were the most by a Highlander since 2009 and the third most in a game by any Division I player this season. Lee has also had a few highlight-reel dunks, including the Number 8 play on the #SCTop10 in a December win vs. St. Elizabeth.
BACK TO BACK
Miles Coming earned his second-straight America East Player of the Week honor this week, following a pair of quality performances in NJIT's 2-0 week. The senior began the week with a career-high 30 points to go along with nine rebounds and five assists in a win at UMass Lowell and followed it up with a 19-point, five-rebound performance in Saturday's win at Binghamton.
O'Hearn's Big Day
Senior Dylan O'Hearn erupted for a new Division I program-record 42 points on Sunday, December 5, as NJIT came back from a late, double-digit deficit to win in 2OT. O'Hearn scored 36 of his points at halftime and tallied all 15 of NJIT's points after regulation. The Windsor, ON, native's 42-point game is tied for the second-highest scoring effort in Division I this season as Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis narrowly has the first place spot with a 43-point game. O'Hearn was named the CollegeInsider.Com Lou Henson National Player of the Week (Top mid-major player) and America East Player of the Week.
#ProtectTheWEC
NJIT is in its fifth campaign in the state-of-the-art Wellness and Events Center (WEC) . In four-plus seasons playing in the WEC, the Highlanders are 33-26 in this three story, 220,000-square-foot building that features a 3,500-seat basketball arena and a take a three-game home winning streak into Friday's matchup with Army West Point.
America East Conference
NJIT will begin its second season in the America East and will play a schedule of 18 conference games against the other nine schools. The Highlanders became the 10th full member of the America East on July 1, 2020.
The Highlanders were predicted to finish eighth out of the 10 league teams in the preseason coaches poll.
Next Up
The Highlanders will hit the road this weekend, traveling to take on UAlbany on Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 4pm and the game will be streamed on ESPN3.
Stay Connected
Stay up to date during the NJIT Men's Basketball season by following @NJITHoops on Twitter and Instagram and liking the NJIT Men's Basketball page on Facebook.
