Box Score

Postgame Interview with Ron Cottrell (video)

NEWARK, N.J. –New Jersey Institute of Technology made 10-of-18 3-pointers en route to an 85-62 victory over Houston Baptist in the Great West Conference opener Thursday night at the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
 
Junior forward Art Bernardi led HBU (6-11, 0-1 GWC) with 14 points, while junior forward Marcus Davis added 13 points. Senior center Joe Latas finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots, but was held to just one point in the second half.
 
Isaiah Wilkerson scored 24 points and pulled down eight rebounds for NJIT (8-9, 1-0), while Lamar Kearse added 15 points and seven boards. Ryan Woods scored 11 points, and Chris Flores had 10 for the Highlanders.
 
NJIT scored the first five points of the game, but junior guard Antony Hill drilled a three to get HBU on the board, and Latas later scored back-to-back baskets to tie the game, 9-9. Evans hit a three from the corner to give the Huskies their first lead, 14-11, but Wilkerson answered with a three of his own to tie the game with 13:24 remaining.
 
Another pair of power layups by Latas put the Huskies up, 20-15, but the Highlanders scored the next six to regain the advantage with 10:47 to go in the first half. Sophomore guard Evans hit his second trey of the half to put HBU up by two, but NJIT tied it on a tip-in by Kearse, then Davis hit a three to give the Huskies a 26-23 lead. NJIT went on a 10-0 run, but Hill knocked down another triple to get the Huskies back within four at 33-29. Wilkerson's third 3-pointer of the half put the Highlanders ahead, 38-29, with 2:55 remaining, and NJIT took a 40-31 lead into halftime.
 
NJIT opened the second half on a 13-5 run, which included 3-pointers by Arjun Ohri and Kearse, to extend its lead to 53-36 with 16:47 left. Ohri and Wilkerson hit threes to push the Highlanders' lead to 62-42, and they led by as many as 25 in the closing frame.
 
NJIT shot 46 percent from the field for the game, including 56 percent from behind the arc, while HBU shot 33 percent from the field, but 43 percent from 3-point range. The Highlanders hit 21-of-26 from the free-throw line, while the Huskies made 15-of-22. NJIT outrebounded HBU, 36-33, and held a 14-0 advantage on fastbreak opportunities.
 
The Huskies continue league play on the road as they face Chicago State Saturday at 2:05 p.m. in Chicago.