GAME NOTES AT BRYANT 2.28

NEWARK, NJ – NJIT hits the road for the final time this regular season as the Highlanders travel to Bryant on Saturday, February 28^th for a 4:00 p.m. start time.

Vermont Recap

• The Highlanders drop at home to Vermont, 64-70, on Saturday night and fall to 10-4 in America East play.
• Leading the way for the Highlanders was Robinson with 16 points. Bolden followed with 15 points and Ebonkoli rounded out the double-figure scorers with 14 points.
• The Highlanders fall to 10-4 in conference play but clinched a top-4 seed because of a UMBC win over UAlbany.

NJIT vs. Bryant: All-Time Series

• This is the 10^th all-time meeting between the Highlanders and the Bulldogs.
• The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 7-2.
• Last matchup was this season where the Highlanders took down the Bulldogs, 79-55, in Newark on 1/19/26.

America East Honors

• Sophomore Ari Fulton was named America East Player of the Week (2/9) averaging 19.5 PPG and 9.5 RPG and shot 12-18 FG (67%). Fulton was also named America East Co-Player of the Week (11/17) earlier in the season.
• Junior Sebastian Robinson was named America East Player of the Week (2/2) averaging 19.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.0 APG and shot 15-29 FG (51.7%)
• Freshman David Bolden was named America East Rookie of the Week (2/16) for the fourth time this season averaging 12.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 4.0 APG, and 4.5 SPG. Bolden received this honor previously on 11/10, 11/17 and 2/2.

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.
• The win over Maine (2/14) marks the Highlanders' 10th conference win of the season, which is the highest win total in program history, passing their win total of 9 as a member of the Great West in 2010-11.
• The six-game winning streak tied the Highlanders longest winning streak in their D-I era, accomplished first in 2011 and matched in 2015.
• The Highlanders clinched a top-4 seed and will host an America East quarterfinal game for the first time since joining the conference in 2020.

Next Up
NJIT returns home to the Bloom Wellness & Events Center as the Highlanders host UMBC for senior night on Tuesday, March 3^rd for a 6:00 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.