NJIT Game Notes (PDF)


NEWARK, NJ – The Highlanders (9-13, 1-5 ASUN) will return home and try to snap a three-game skid on Saturday afternoon when they battle the Lipscomb Bison (12-11, 4-2 ASUN) at Fleisher Athletic Center in Newark. Opening tip is slated for 4 p.m.
 
NJIT is coming off a 71-65 loss at Kennesaw State on Wednesday, while Lipscomb notched an 84-77 win over USC Upstate. The Highlanders, playing without leading scorer Damon Lynn for the first time since he arrived in Newark, led for 34:41 of the game before falling to the Owls.
 
The game can be seen on ESPN3 (all remaining NJIT basketball games can be seen on ESPN3).
 
A simple way to find ESPN3 is on NJIT's official athletics website, www.njithighlanders.com. Near the middle of the home page NJIT TV section, click Upcoming Events for a list of scheduled NJIT contests. After finding the event, click the camera icon to the right of the event listing. That brings you to an ESPN3 portal where you can access the desired program.
 
Matt Provence, the voice of the Highlanders, will be on play-by-play with expert analysis from Dave Calloway.
 

ALL-TIME SERIES
 
The all-time series is tied at one apiece after each team won on the other's home court last season.
 
On Jan. 27, 2016 at Fleisher Athletic Center, the Bison raced out to a nine-point halftime lead and drained 15 treys en route to an 81-72 win over NJIT. Lipscomb.
 
Sophomore guard Garrison Mathews led five Lipscomb players in double figures with a game-high 19 points while Damon Lynn and senior forward Tim Coleman had 17 apiece for NJIT.
 
During the game in Nashville, the Highlanders hit 16-of-29 (55.2%) from beyond the arc and topped the Bison, 90-78.
 
Lynn buried five threes en route to 26 points for NJIT and senior center David Wishon paced Lipscomb with 24.

 
BISON BITES
 
In the 84-77 win over USC Upstate, the Bison erased a 15-point halftime deficit and outscored the Spartans by a 50-28 margin in the second half.
 
Mathews had 22 points to lead the way offensively for Lipscomb while sophomore center Rob Marberry added 16 points and senior guard Josh Williams chipped in with 14.
 
The Bison lead the ASUN with 85.5 ppg, a total that also ranks 13^th in the nation and rank third in the ASUN at 46.9% shooting from the floor.
 
Mathews leads the team in scoring at 19.3 ppg and is joined in double figures by Williams (14.1 ppg), Marberry (11.5 ppg) and junior guard Nathan Moran (10.4 ppg).
 
Head coach Casey Alexander is in his fourth season at the helm of the Bison after previously spending two seasons as the head coach at Stetson.
 
Prior to becoming a head coach, Alexander played his college basketball at Belmont and spent 16 seasons as an assistant with the Bruins.
 
During his tenure as an assistant, Belmont made four trips to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Alexander led the Bruins to a 119-25 record during his playing days and was inducted into the Belmont Hall of Fame in 2005.
 
Mathews' grandfather played football at Ole Miss and was a member of the 1962 National Championship team.
 
Senior guard Cam Miller is the great nephew of Baseball Hall of Famer Charlie Gehringer, who played 19 seasons with the Detroit Tigers from 1924-42.
 
Freshman forward Kenny Bunton's brother, Dallas, serves as a manager for the team.
 

NJIT OUTLOOK
 
Kennesaw State's Tyler Hooker hit a three with 2:47 left to give the Owls the lead for good in a 71-65 win over NJIT on Wednesday night at KSU Convocation Center.
 
After Coleman converted a three-point play to give the Highlanders a 63-60 lead with 4:22 left, KSU embarked on a 9-0 run to take control of the game.
 
Senior guard Rob Ukawuba tied his career-high with 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting to lead the way offensively for the Highlanders. Ukawuba had previously scored 20 on Nov. 23, 2015 at Providence.
 
Coleman added 19 for head coach Brian Kennedy's squad and sophomore center Abdul Lewis chipped in with eight points and 16 rebounds.
 
NJIT played the game without Lynn, who missed the first game of his four-year career due to injury. The team's leading scorer suffered a ruptured achilles five minutes into the Highlanders' prior contest on Jan. 21 at FGCU. He entered that affair as the nation's leading active Division-I scorer and remains the active leader in career three-pointers made.
 
For the sixth time in as many conference games, the Highlanders outrebounded their opponent and are a +3.9 in rebounding margin on the season.

After starting with five of its first seven conference games on the road, NJIT returns home to the friendly confines of Fleisher Athletic Center -- where Kennedy's troops have gone 6-1 this season.


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry.