NEWARK, NJ– The NJIT men's basketball team returns home following a season-high three-game road swing to host Medgar Evers on Friday afternoon at 1pm in the Joel and Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center in Newark.

The game will be streamed at 1pm and Matt Provence (play-by-play) and Drew Casey (analyst) will have the call. 

All-Time Series
Friday's game is the first all-time between the Highlanders and Cougars.

Last Time Out: Niagara 89, NJIT 81 | Sat. 12/16 in Niagara, NY
Despite a pair of career-high scoring efforts from rookie Tariq Francis and veteran Kjell de Graaf, the NJIT men's basketball team suffered an 89-81 set back to host Niagara in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Gallagher Center.

The Highlanders jumped out to an early lead as de Graaf hit two early three-pointers and threw down a putback dunk to help NJIT go ahead 10-4 less than three minutes into the game.

NJIT led by as many as seven points in the first half and for all but 12 seconds, yet a late Niagara game made the score 39-38 as the teams entered their respective locker rooms for halftime.

Niagara opened up the second half on an 11-2 run to take an eight point lead and led for the duration of the game, leading by as many as 13 at one point.

The Highlanders cut the margin to just five on a pair of occasions with about six minutes to play, but the Purple Eagles answered each time to go back ahead by double-digits.

NJIT struggled to contain Niagara's 7-foot center Harlan Obioha, who finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds as the Purple Eagles won the battle on the boards 37-24. 

Francis scored 20 points in just his 10th collegiate game, while de Graaf tallied 17 in his 101st game over the past six seasons. Mekhi Gray and Elijah Buchanan also scored in double figures for NJIT, scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively. 

The Highlanders will break for final exams before returning to the court on Friday when they host Medgar Evers in the Joel and Diane Wellness and Events Center in Newark. Tip-off is slated for 1pm and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK:
NJIT freshman Sebastian Robinson was named the America East Rookie of the Week for three straight weeks, earning the award in the second, third, and fourth weeks of the season. Robinson was first honored for his 17-point, 6-assist performance at American and he followed it up with earning the award again after averaging 18ppg and 3.5apg in a 1-1 week against Delaware St. and Wagner. Last week, Robinson averaged 9.0ppg, 4.0 rpg, and 2.5 apg in a pair of games at George Mason and vs. FDU.

Highlander Highlights
*    Friday's game is the 11th of the 2023-24 season -- which marks NJIT's 18th participating in Division I, fourth as a member of the America East and seventh in the WEC.
*    NJIT's roster makeup is rather unique with nine freshmen, one junior, one senior, and five post-graduate players, including four in their sixth collegiate season
*    The Highlanders are coming off a season-high three game road swing and will now play three-straight and six of their next eight at home
*    Kjell de Graaf is the most tenured Highlander as he is now in his sixth season with the program and played in his 100th game last Saturday at Wake Forest.
*    Tariq Francis was named America East Rookie of the Week last week, marking the fourth time in six weeks a Highlander has earned that award. Sebastian Robinson was named America East Rookie of the Week three times this season. 
*     The Highlanders turned the ball over just three times last Saturday at Niagara. That number is its lowest mark in 17+ seasons competing in Division I.  
*    NJIT is 32-0 all-time against non-Division I opponents, including 25-0 vs. Division III teams.
*    Tariq Francis currently leads the America East in FT% (86.7), while Adam Hess leads the conference in minutes per game (34.3).
*    Adam Hess, who led the America East in 3FG% last season, is shooting 39.3% from deep.
*    Kjell de Graaf scored eight points in the opening two minutes last Saturday vs. Niagara and finished with a career-high 17 points while playing a season-high 34 minutes. de Graaf is averaging 11.5 ppg and 4.5 rpg in four games since returning from injury. The veteran's biggest two points during that stretch came on a put-back with 2.0 seconds to play at Fordham as the bucket put the Highlanders ahead by one in the final seconds. 

Next Up
The Highlanders continue their three-game homestand on New Year's Eve when they host Morgan State at 4:30pm. The Sunday contest will be a part of a doubleheader as the NJIT women's hoops team will host LIU at 1pm. 

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 Basketball page on Facebook.