NJIT Concludes Non-Conference Action with 59-53 Win at St. Francis Brooklyn

Published: Saturday, December 11, 2021
NJIT closes out non-conference action with a 5-6 mark; the five wins are the most since 2018-19 when NJIT finished with six

Freshman Reese Vaughan broke a 53-53 tie on a three-pointer with 1:13 left to go in the game and visiting NJIT held on for a 59-53 road victory at St. Francis Brooklyn Saturday afternoon to wrap up the non-conference portion of the schedule at Daniel Lynch'38 Gymnasium.

NJIT, which snapped a three-game skid, moved to 5-6 on the season, behind three players reaching double-figures, paced by Kenna Squier's game-best 14 points followed by Kimi Evans (11) and Lyzi Litwinko (11).  

The five wins for the Highlanders are the most since the 2018-19 season, when NJIT finished 6-24.

Vaughan, one of two newcomers on the Highlander roster, hit the biggest shot of her young career, a three-pointer, putting NJIT ahead for good, 56-53, with 1:13 left to play in the contest. Vaughan finished with seven points in 17 minutes of action, going 1-for-2 from downtown and 4-for-6 from the free throw line.

Kimi Evans grabbed a game-best seven rebounds as the Highlanders out-rebounded St. Francis Brooklyn, 30-to-22.  Sophomore Kiana Brereton added six points in 15 minutes of action off the bench.

St. Francis Brooklyn had one player reach double-figures led by Khaleah Edwards with 13 points.

NJIT, down by as many as nine in the third quarter, 42-33, started the final period on a 10-4 run, extending the Highlander lead to 51-47.  The Terries came back to tie the game at 51and again at 53 with 2:07 left to play before Vaughan hit the three-pointer to put NJIT ahead 56-53.  

In the first quarter, NJIT down by six, 14-8, battled back to close out the first quarter on a 6-0 run, capped by a layup by Squier, who netted the game at 14-all.

After leading 16-14 on a layup by Brereton at the 8:34 mark of the second quarter, St. Francis Brooklyn went on a 7-2 spurt, taking a 21-18 lead into the under five minute media timeout.  Grace Plummer knocked down a long range three-pointer at the 3:16 mark and a pair of free throws made by Squier, knotted the game at 25-all with less than two minutes to play in the first half.

At the half, NJIT's Brereton and Kimi shared game-high honors with St. Francis Brooklyn's Edwards and Nevena Dimitrijevic, posting six points each.

Up one at the half, 28-27, St. Francis Brooklyn opened the third stanza on a 6-0 spurt, pushing its lead to 33-27.  An old-fashioned three-point play by Kimi Evans and one of two at the free throw line by Maddie Martin, NJIT cut the Terrier deficit to four, 35-31, at the 6:19 mark.

NJIT will begin America East Conference action on December 30 at 2pm when the Highlanders host defending America East Champions and NCAA participant Stony Brook inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.

Stony Brook sits atop the America East with a 7-1 record with its lone loss at Fordham on Dec. 2.