NEWARK, NJ – The NJIT men's basketball team drops their home opener 74-53 to Fairfield on Saturday afternoon.

Early on, the Highlanders' offense was sparked by the deep ball off the bench. Freshman Rocco Awad and sophomore Quentin Duncan both knocked down threes to give the Highlanders their lead in the first ten minutes of the half.

The final stretch of the first half was a struggle for the offense of the Highlanders. The team headed into halftime down by five and shot 11-29 from the field (37.9%) and 5-15 from behind the arc (33.3%).

At the half, freshman David Bolden and sophomore Malachi Arrington led the way with six points each but turnovers plagued the Highlanders' first half offense.

Coming out of the break, Fairfield went on a 12-0 scoring run to jump ahead and grab a double-digit lead. The Stags lead was as big as 17 points with just under eight minutes to go in the second half.

The Highlanders sparked a run of their own to get the game within ten, but the Stags quickly answered with a run of their own going back up by 15 with four minutes left in the final half.
After some late game fireworks, Fairfield was able to pull away and ultimately securing the non-conference win.

As a team the Highlanders shot 19-60 from the field (31.7%) and 7-30 from deep (23.3%). Bolden led the way with 12 points, marking him as the only Highlander to score in double digits.

Next Up
NJIT is back on the road as the Highlanders take on Loyola MD on Tuesday, the 11^th for a 7:00 p.m. start time. Stay up to date on all things NJIT Men's Basketball throughout the season by following @NJITHoops on X/Twitter and Instagram.