GAME NOTES AT UMBC 1.22

NEWARK, NJ – NJIT starts their three-game road trip to close out January as the Highlanders take on UMBC on Thursday, January 22^nd for a 6:00 p.m. start time.

Bryant Recap

• The Highlanders take down Bryant, 79-55, on Monday afternoon to improve to 4-1 in America East play.
• With the win, the Highlanders improve to 4-1 in America East play and it marks their best start in conference play in their first five games in program history.
• Leading the way for the Highlanders was junior Sebastian Robinson with 22 points, marking his third straight game scoring 20+ and his fourth in his last five.
• Freshman David Bolden followed with 17 points on 5-9 shooting from behind the arc.

NJIT vs. UMBC: All-Time Series

• This is the 13^th all-time meeting between the Highlanders and the Retrievers.
• The Retrievers lead the all-time series 7-5.
• Last matchup was last season where the Retrievers took down the Highlanders, 95-91, in Baltimore on 2/22/25.

America East Honors

• Fulton was named America East Co-Player of the Week (11/17) averaging 17.0 PPG and 12.0 RPG.
• Bolden was named America East Rookie of the Week two weeks in a row (11/10, 11/17) averaging 15 PPG and 6 APG.

Quick Notes:

• Grant Billmeier enters his third season at the helm.
• Ty Goode joins the coaching staff as an assistant coach after spending the previous three seasons on the staff at Fordham University as Recruiting/Video Coordinator (2024-25) and Assistant Recruiting Coordinator (2022-24).
• The Highlanders return nine players from last season, one of the highest marks in the conference.
• The Highlanders boasts a younger roster with 11 of its 15 members being either freshman or sophomores. The team also has three juniors and a graduate student.
• Newcomers to Newark include Melvyn Ebonkoli, Jeremy Clayville, Rocco Awad, Zack Scherler, AJ Altobelli and David Bolden.
• Bolden's 18 points at Fordham (11/4) is the most points scored by a freshman in their debut since Damon Lynn in 2013. Damon had 21 points at Tulane on Nov. 8, 2013.
• The last time the Highlanders started off a season 3-1 was back during the 2015-16 season.
• The Highlanders concluded their non-conference slate with five wins, which is their most non-conference wins since the 2021-22 season (5).
• The Highlanders took down Binghamton, 73-65, to win their America East opener for the first time since the 2021-22 season.

Next Up
NJIT stays on the road and heads north as the Highlanders take on UAlbany on Thursday, January 29^th for a 6:30 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.