VIDEO: NJIT Highlights

VESTAL, NY - For the first time since the 2012-13 season, the NJIT men's basketball team opened conference play with three straight wins following Saturday's 67-56 road win vs. Binghamton at the Events Center.

NJIT (8-5, 3-0 AE) opened conference play with a home win over Maine last Sunday before defeating UMass Lowell on Thursday on the road and the Bearcats on Saturday, also on the road. Binghamton entered the weekend as the only other 2-0 team in the America East and now has a 5-7 overall record and a 2-1 mark in conference action.

Souleymane Diakite opened the scoring for the Highlanders on Saturday, netting the first four points of the afternoon for NJIT. The Bearcats answered each of Diakite's baskets with one of their own, before a jumper from Miles Coleman and a three-pointer from Dylan O'Hearn gave the Highlanders an early 9-4 advantage.

The teams went back and forth for the next eight minutes until NJIT got another jumper from O'Hearn to pull ahead by 4, 18-14, with 8:11 on the clock in the first half. The Bearcats scored the next six points to go in front for the first and last time of the game as the Highlanders immediately tied it and pulled back in front shortly thereafter.

NJIT closed the half on a 7-2 run to take a 33-26 advantage into the locker room at halftime as Miles Coleman continued his impressive start to conference play with nine points in the first half, while O'Hearn chipped in with eight of his own.

O'Hearn was able to catch fire early in the second half, just two days after his 17-point second half performance in Thursday's victory at UMass Lowell. The senior drained a pair of early three-pointers to extend the NJIT lead to double-digits, 41-31, for the first time all game with just over 16 minutes on the clock. 

The Highlanders led by at least seven points for the duration of the game, pushing the margin to as many as 16 late in the second half before ultimately winning by 11 to clinch their third-straight victory, a feat they have now accomplished twice this season.

Coleman led all scorers with 19 points as O'Hearn, who entered the game as the America East's scoring leader, scored 13. James Lee joined Coleman and O'Hearn in double figures, scoring 12 points of his own. Diakite tallied nine points, two off of his season high. 

Antwuan Butler pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds as the Highlanders won the battle on the boards 38-32. Lee grabbed eight rebounds, narrowly missing his first double-double as a Highlander. 

In addition to his 19-point offensive performance, Coleman stuffed the stat sheet with five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. The senior is averaging 23.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, and 2.3 apg in his last four games.

Jacob Falko was the only Binghamton player in double figures, scoring 11 points. 

NJIT will look for their first four-game winning streak of the season when it returns to action on Wednesday, hosting UMBC in Newark. Tip-off is slated for 7pm at the Wellness and Events Center.