Video: NJIT Highlights
HACKENSACK, NJ - The NJIT men's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss on Wednesday as host FDU tipped in a miss with just more than one second on the clock to win 73-71 at the Rothman Center.
Sunday's game was a back-and-forth affair with FDU leading by as many as eight in the first half and NJIT going in front by seven midway though the second half on a layup from
Mekhi Gray with 11:50 to play.
The Knights answered Gray's layup with a run and eventually tied the game at 59 on a free throw with 5:50 on the clock.
From there, the teams traded the lead several times before the hosts went ahead 71-67 on a layup with 1:08 to play. NJIT scored the next four points, first on a pair of free throws from
Paul McMillan IV, and then tied the game on
Raheim Sullivan's layup with 28 seconds remaining. Sullivan stole an FDU in bounds pass and went the length of the court to tie the game and set up the controversial final play.
FDU let the clock run and missed a deep, contested two-pointer with two seconds left, but the Knights were able to tip it in while the officials ruled there was no offensive goaltending on the play.
The Highlanders were able to inbound the ball to Gray at mid-court, but the juniors desperation game-winning attempt fell short and FDU held on for the home victory.
Gray was one of three NJIT players in double figures, scoring 14 points, one off of his season-high. Also scoring 10+ for the Highlanders were
Adam Hess, who tallied a season- and game-high-tying 15 points, and
Kevin Osawe, who scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in 14 minutes of action.
Gray stuffed the stat sheet for the second-straight game, also pulling down six rebounds, dishing out three assists, and blocking a pair of shots. Two of his points and one of those boards came on a highlight-reel put-back dunk in the second half.
The Highlanders will take the week off for final exams and return to action next Sunday when they host Niagara at 2pm in the WEC.
