Game Highlights (VIDEO)

Play of the Game: Lynn-to-Ukawuba Alley-Oop (VIDEO)


NEWARK, NJ – The Highlanders (8-10, 0-2 ASUN) rallied late, but came up just short in an 82-81 loss to the Jacksonville Dolphins (13-6, 1-1 ASUN) on Thursday night at Fleisher Athletic Center in Newark. 

After sinking a technical free throw with 0.8 seconds left, senior guard Damon Lynn came up short on a long three-pointer that would have given the Highlanders the win. 

That came on the heels of senior forward Tim Coleman making one of two from the charity stripe with a chance to tie the game in the final 10 seconds of regulation. 

The loss snaps the Highlanders' eight-game winning streak at Fleisher Athletic Center dating back to last season. 

Despite the loss, NJIT still put together a very impressive rally to make it a game as Jacksonville led by as many as 14 in the second half. The Dolphins' J.R. Holder sank a pair of free throws with 12:05 left to give the visitors a 53-39 lead. 

Trailing 75-67 with just over four minutes left, the Highlanders embarked on a 13-6 run capped by a free throw from Coleman with 0:07 left to make it an 81-80 game in favor of Jacksonville. 

Holder was fouled immediately and sank one of two on the other end to stretch the lead back to 82-80, which set the stage for the wild ending. 

NJIT sank 9-of-13 (69.2%) from the free-throw line while the Dolphins hit 16-of-26 (61.5%). 

Lynn paced the Highlanders with 24 points on the strength of seven three-pointers while junior guard Chris Jenkins added 15 points on 5-9 shooting from beyond the arc and Coleman added 15 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Freshman Anthony Tarke chipped in 12 points on 6-6 shooting and senior guard Rob Ukawuba tallied 11 of his own. 

The double-double from Coleman was the school record 15th of his career, and he fell just three helpers shy of posting the first triple-double in program history. 

Holder led the way offensively for Jacksonville with a career-high 39 points on 14-18 shooting while senior guard Darien Fernandez chipped in with 15 points and Devin Harris added 10. Holder set his previous high of 30 against Denver back in November.

As a team, NJIT was 29-67 from the field (43.3%) while the Dolphins sank 29-54 (54.7%) and 8-16 (50.0%) from beyond the arc. 

The first half was a back-and-forth affair in which neither team led by more than six, but a late 14-7 run from Jacksonville allowed them to take a 35-31 lead into the locker room. 

The Highlanders out-rebounded the Dolphins by a 36-31 count, led by the 13 rebounds from Coleman and seven from sophomore Abdul Lewis. Fernandez paced the Dolphins with eight boards. 

NJIT returns to action on Saturday afternoon when they host North Florida (7-12, 2-0 ASUN) at Fleisher Athletic Center. Opening tip is slated for 4 p.m. 


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry