Game 18		NJIT (8-9, 3-4 AE) at UMBC (7-10, 2-4 AE)
Date		Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Arena		Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena
Location | Time		Baltimore, MD | 7pm
ESPN+ ($$$)		Watch Live
Live Stats		In-game statistics (free)
Series		NJIT Leads 3-2
Game Notes		NJIT Notes | UMBC Notes

NEWARK, NJ--The NJIT men's basketball team returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Baltimore to take on UMBC in America East action.

Game Information
Tipoff is slated for 7pm at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena on the UMBC campus in Baltimore. The game will also be streamed via ESPN+.

All-Time Series
Wednesday's matchup is the sixth all-time between the Highlanders and Retreivers, with the previous fourr all being played in Newark. NJIT won series opener in 2015, defeating UMBC by 15, while each of the next 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. Earlier this season, UMBC defeated NJIT 76-56 in Newark.

NJIT vs. the America East
NJIT is 24-38 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 17th 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 and UMBC played just two weeks ago at the Wellness and Events Center in Newark. UMBC ended the Highlanders' three-game winning streak, coming away with the 76-56 road victory. NJIT was without two starters for that game as James Lee (COVID Protocol) and Matt Faw (ankle) missed the contest. Lee has since returned to the Highlanders' lineup, while Faw is still day-to-day. 
*    Two of the top six scorers in the America East play for the Highlanders as Miles Coleman (15.8 ppg) ranks third and Dylan O'Hearn (14.5 ppg) is sixth. 
*    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. 
*    Butler currently leads the AE in a/to ratio (2.4) and had seven assists to go along with just one turnover in 38 minutes last Saturday at Albany. The seven assists were the most by a Highlander since Zach Cooks had seven on 2/13/19 at FGCU.
*    NJIT has not lost five straight games since a seven-game skid during the non-conference portion of its 2019-20 schedule.

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 33-29 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 return back to the friendly confines of the WEC on Saturday when they welcome UAlbany to Newark. NJIT and the Great Danes will tip off at 7pm and the game will be streamed free 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.