Strong Second Half Leads NJIT Past First-Place UMBC at the WEC

NJIT Highlights
Postgame Interview w/ Head Coach Brian Kennedy and San Antonio Brinson
Postgame Interview w/ Assistant Coach Joe Gutowski
Photo Gallery 

NJIT's big three offensive weapons - Zach Cooks, San Antonio Brinson and Dylan O'Hearn - all scored in double-figures on Sunday to lead the Highlanders' men's basketball team past first-place UMBC in America East action at the Wellness and Events Center.

NJIT (6-7, 5-6 America East) trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half, but the Highlanders were able to get their offense going and make critical defensive stops down the stretch to hold earn the victory over the Retrievers (10-4, 6-3 America East).

"That was just another quality mid-major basketball game here in the America East," explained fifth-year NJIT Head Coach Brian Kennedy following the win. "We were fortunate to come out on the right side of it."

Both teams came out hot offensively out of the gate trading blows as the score was tied 12-12 less than five minutes into the contest. UMBC scored the next seven points to go ahead and 19-12 with just over 12 minutes to play in the opening half, but NJIT never let the lead get past 10, and eventually cut it to four, 34-30 on a nice move from Souleymane Diakite in the paint. 

The Retrievers scored the final five points of the half, however, and took a nine-point advantage into the locker room at halftime. 

"I stressed at halftime that we had only one assist and eight turnovers," added Kennedy. 

UMBC's lead went back up to 10 when Brandon Horvath scored after grabbing an offensive rebound to put the visitors up 44-34 just over two minutes into the second half.

NJIT answered with a 10-3 run to get within one possession on a put-back from Brinson with 12:56 to play and the margin stayed between three and six as the midway point of the half approached.

The Highlanders took their first lead of the second half on a three-pointer from Kjell de Graff that made the score 53-52with 8:15 to play, but UMBC answered immediately with a three-pointer from Darnell Rodgers to go back in front by two.

The squads traded baskets for the next few minutes, and with the score tied 59-59 LJ Owens connected on a triple of this own to put the Retrievers back in front by three with just under five minutes on the clock. 

NJIT scored seven of the next 10 points to re-take the lead on a basket from Brinson that made the score 66-65 with three minutes to play and the Highlanders didn't allow UMBC to score another point the rest of the way, en route to the four-point victory.

"In the second half, we had seven assists and just four turnovers," mentioned Kennedy. "We were playing for each other down the stretch."

Cooks paced the Highlanders with 15 points, while playing all 40 minutes for the 29th time in his tremendous NJIT career. The senior captain moved into seventh on the program's all-time scoring list on Sunday, finishing the game with 1,648 career points. He was joined in double figures by O'Hearn, who scored 13 points, and Brinson, who tallied 12, including 10 after halftime. 

De Graaf also had a productive game in his third-straight start. The Netherlands native played a season-high 34 minutes, scoring eight points, while grabbing four rebounds, blocking three shots, and dishing out a career-high three assists.

RJ Eytle-Rock led the Retrievers with 16 points.

The two teams are scheduled to finish the two-game conference series on Monday, weather permitting. Tip-off is currently slated for 2 p.m., but stay tuned to NJITHighlanders.com and @NJITHoops on social media for updates.