NJIT Defeats Maine in Overtime Thriller on the Road

The NJIT men's basketball team won a wild, back-and-forth affair over Maine on Sunday in America East action, defeating the hosts 91-83 in overtime at The Pit inside Memorial Gymnasium to earn even their conference record at 1-1 on the season. 

Video: NJIT Highlights | Post-Game Interview w/ Head Coach Brian Kennedy

The Highlanders trailed by as many as 11 mid-way through the first half, but tied the game 41-41 at halftime thanks to a Raheim Sullivan three-pointer late in the period. 

NJIT and Maine flipped the script in the second half as the Highlanders led by nine midway through the half, but found themselves down by six with 2:53 to play. 

One week after squandering a late lead, this time the Highlanders came from behind late, going on a 10-1 run to take a 77-74 advantage with 23 seconds on the clock. The 10-1 run was highlighted by a steal from Hess, which he out-letted to Coleman, who found Gray on the break for an easy transition layup to tie the game.

Maine answered, however, with a game-tying three-pointer with just under 10 seconds left and late game-winning attempt from NJIT rimmed out to send the game to overtime, the Highlanders' first of the season.

Miles Coleman opened overtime with a deep three-point to give the Highlanders an 80-77 lead and Adam Hess put the visitors in front by two answering a pair of Black Bears' basket with a 1-for-2 effort of his own from the line.

Maine tied the game for the eighth, and final, time on a dunk with 2:13 left on the clock. 

Sullivan got to the basket and converted a tough layup on the ensuing position to put NJIT in front, this time for good. After a defensive stop, Coleman was fouled taking a three-pointer on the other end of the floor and made 2-of-3 to make the margin four with exactly 1:00 to play.

The Highlanders hit six of their eight foul shots in the final minute to preserve the eight-point road win, NJIT's first win at Maine since 2015. The Highlanders are now 7-4 all-time against the Black Bears.

While Coleman led the Highlanders with 22 points, three other NJIT players scored at least 15 points in the victory. Kjell de Graaf scored a career-high 16 points, as did Mekhi Gray, which marked a new season-high for the junior. Adam Hess was the fourth Highlander with 15+, scoring 15 on Sunday.

Sullivan's six points were all crucial, the late first-half three-pointer, a driving layup in overtime, as well as a late free throw in regulation. The graduate student did plenty more than score though, leading the squad with five assists and grabbing a team-high-tying seven rebounds. 

Gray also grabbed five rebounds and dished out a pair of assists, while playing a career-high 42 minutes. 

The Highlanders out-scored the Black Bears 44-32 in the paint and 26-4 in points off the bench, both thanks in part to de Graaf's career day. While Sullivan and Kevin Osawe each grabbed seven rebounds to pace the Highlanders, it was a team effort on the boards as five different NJIT players grabbed at least five in the victory en route to the Highlanders out-rebounding Maine 42-37.

NJIT will look to make it two in a row on Jan. 11 when it hosts Binghamton in Newark. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. in the Wellness and Events Center and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.