FLORENCE, AL - The NJIT men's basketball team was defeated by host North Alabama 72-65 in ASUN Conference action on Thursday evening in Flowers Hall.
The game was tied 33-33 at halftime as the teams exchanged leads eight times over the first 20 minutes, but the Lions (12-16, 7-8 ASUN) scored the first seven points of the second half and led the rest of the way as the Highlanders fell to 8-20 overall and 5-10 in ASUN action.
UNA led by as many as 10 in the second half, but NJIT never went away, cutting the Lions' lead to just two on several occasions. The Highlanders were never able to tie the game, however, as North Alabama held on to move into a fifth-place tie in the ASUN standings heading into their regular season finale Saturday at Florida Gulf Coast.
The loss locks the Highlanders into the eighth seed for the upcoming ASUN Tournament and sets up a quarterfinal matchup against top-seeded Liberty on Tuesday in Lynchburg, VA.
Zach Cooks, who has led the ASUN in scoring all season, led all players with 25 points. Cooks will head into Saturday's regular season finale averaging 19.5 ppg on the season, more than two points higher than any other player in the conference.
San Antonio Brinson and
Souleymane Diakite also scored in double figures for the Highlanders, tallying 14 and 10 points, respectively. Diakite fell just short of a double-double, grabbing a team-high nine rebounds.
Levar Williams made his first three shots from the field, including a three-pointer, and chipped in with nine points off the bench.
"I'm very happy for Levar," said NJIT Head Coach
Brian Kennedy. "He's worked hard all season and it's coming together for him."
Williams, a freshman, played a season- and career-high 25 minutes on Saturday and scored nine-plus points for the second time in three games.
Emmanuel Littles led five Lions in double figures with 18 points and pulled down a game-best 13 rebounds. Littles was a big reason why UNA out-rebounded NJIT 42-31 overall and 14-6 on the offensive glass. The Lions outscored the Highlanders 18-5 in second-chance points.
NJIT will wrap up its regular season on Saturday when it takes on Kennesaw State in Kennesaw, GA. Tip-off is scheduled for 1pm.
