2017–18 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team

The 2017–18 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team represented the New Jersey Institute of Technology during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Highlanders, led by second-year head coach Brian Kennedy, played their home games at the Wellness and Events Center in Newark, New Jersey as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN). They finished the season 14–16, 7–7 in ASUN play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the ASUN tournament to North Florida.

2017–18 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball
ConferenceAtlantic Sun Conference
Record14–16 (7–7 ASUN)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Jeff Rafferty
  • Stephen Sauers
  • Kim Waiters
Home arenaWellness and Events Center
Seasons
2017–18 ASUN men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Florida Gulf Coast 12 2   .857 23 12   .657
Lipscomb 10 4   .714 23 10   .697
Jacksonville 8 6   .571 15 18   .455
NJIT 7 7   .500 14 16   .467
North Florida 7 7   .500 14 19   .424
Kennesaw State 6 8   .429 10 20   .333
Stetson 4 10   .286 12 20   .375
USC Upstate 2 12   .143 7 25   .219
2018 ASUN Tournament winner

The season marked the first season for the Wellness and Events Center, a $110 million athletic center on the school's campus.[1]

Previous season

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The Highlanders finished the 2016–17 season 11–20, 3–11 in ASUN play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the ASUN tournament to Lipscomb.

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Tim Coleman 2 G 6'5" 210 RS Senior Union, NJ Graduated
Damon Lynn 5 G 5'11" 165 Senior Hillside, NJ Graduated
James McMillon 15 G 6'1" 185 Junior Newark, NJ Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons
Ron Alston 21 G/F 6'6" 195 Freshman Alexandria, VA Transferred to Fairmont State
Osa Izevbuwa 23 G 6'3" 230 Senior Staten Island, NY Graduated
Rob Ukawuba 25 G 6'4" 210 Senior East Brunswick, NJ Graduated

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Diandre Wilson 15 G 6'2" 170 Junior Pompano Beach, FL Junior college transferred from Mott CC

2017 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
David Kachelries
#90 PG
Emmaus, PA Emmaus High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 60
SanAntonio Brinson
SF
Augusta, GA South Kent School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Oct 14, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 59
Shawndale Jones
#121 SG
Pittsburgh, PA The Kiski School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) N/A Oct 25, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 58
Zach Cooks
PG
Lawrenceville, GA Berkmar High School 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 140 lb (64 kg) Aug 6, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 27, 2017.

Roster

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2017–18 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Abdul Lewis 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Jr Newark East Side
South Alabama
Newark, NJ
F 1 Taj Price 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Newark East Side Newark, NJ
F 2 San Antonio Brinson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Thomson/South Kent School Augusta, GA
G/F 3 Chris Jenkins 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr Gill St. Bernard's
Hofstra
Hillside, NJ
G 4 Zach Cooks 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Fr Berkmar Lawrenceville, GA
G 10 David Kachelries 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Emmaus Emmaus, PA
G 11 Shyquan Gibbs 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 150 lb (68 kg) So St. Anthony Hillside, NJ
G/F 12 Anthony Tarke 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Gaithersburg Gaithersburg, MD
G 14 Reilly Walsh 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr St. Peter's Boys Staten Island, NY
G 15 Diandre Wilson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Blanche Ely
Mott CC
Fort Lauderdale, FL
G 23 Shawndale Jones 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr The Kiski School Pittsburgh, PA
G 32 Donovan Greer 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Hillcrest Academy
San Jacinto College
Houston, TX
F 34 Mohamed Bendary 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So St. Anthony Jersey City, NJ
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 11, 2017*
6:00 pm, ESPN3
Wagner L 49–60  0–1
 13  Tarke   12  Lewis   4  Lewis  Wellness and Events Center (2,907)
Newark, NJ
November 14, 2017*
7:00 pm
Lafayette W 96–80  1–1
 20  Wilson   15  Lewis   2  Tied  Wellness and Events Center (851)
Newark, NJ
November 18, 2017*
4:00 pm, FS2
at No. 22 Seton Hall L 53–82  1–2
 10  Lewis   5  Tied   2  Lewis  Prudential Center (6,743)
Newark, NJ
November 22, 2017*
4:00 pm, ESPN3
Kean W 116–63  2–2
 23  Jones   7  Lewis   5  Tied  Wellness and Events Center (200)
Newark, NJ
November 25, 2017*
4:00 pm, ESPN3
Drexel W 65–53  3–2
 14  Walsh   11  Lewis   3  Tied  Wellness and Events Center (677)
Newark, NJ
November 28, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
LIU Brooklyn W 73–69  4–2
 23  Lewis   18  Lewis   4  Lewis  Wellness and Events Center (407)
Newark, NJ
November 30, 2017*
7:00 pm, ATTPT
at No. 19 West Virginia L 69–102  4–3
 13  Tarke   7  Lewis   2  Cooks  WVU Coliseum (8,882)
Morgantown, WV
December 3, 2017*
2:00 pm, ESPN3
UMass Lowell W 78–65  5–3
 18  Tarke   6  Tarke   3  Tied  Wellness and Events Center 
Newark, NJ
December 7, 2017*
7:00 pm, BTN Plus
at Rutgers L 64–73  5–4
 19  Tarke   12  Tarke   3  Tied  Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,732)
Piscataway, NJ
December 9, 2017*
4:00 pm, ESPN3
Iona L 70–74 OT 5–5
 21  Tarke   15  Lewis   3  Tied  Wellness and Events Center (460)
Newark, NJ
December 12, 2017*
7:00 pm
at Colgate L 77–87  5–6
 21  Tarke   10  Lewis   5  Tarke  Cotterell Court (377)
Hamilton, NY
December 16, 2017*
4:00 pm, ESPN3
Fairleigh Dickinson W 71–68  6–6
 17  Tied   8  Wilson   3  Tied  Wellness and Events Center (435)
Newark, NJ
December 22, 2017*
2:00 pm, ESPN3
Bryn Athyn W 99–53  7–6
 15  Wilson   9  Brinson   5  Cooks  Wellness and Events Center (566)
Newark, NJ
December 28, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Buffalo L 81–86 OT 7–7
 23  Wilson   9  Jones   2  Tied  Alumni Arena (2,111)
Buffalo, NY
January 3, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Brown L 69–70  7–8
 17  Tarke   8  Tied   6  Tarke  Pizzitola Sports Center (336)
Providence, RI
Atlantic Sun Conference regular season
January 6, 2018
4:00 pm, ESPN3
USC Upstate W 98–87  8–8
(1–0)
 21  Tarke   7  Jones   9  Bendary  Wellness and Events Center (618)
Newark, NJ
January 11, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Stetson L 67–80  8–9
(1–1)
 23  Tarke   6  Tied   5  Cooks  Edmunds Center (398)
Deland, FL
January 13, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Florida Gulf Coast L 54–68  8–10
(1–2)
 12  Cooks   8  Tied   2  Tied  Alico Arena (3,517)
Fort Myers, FL
January 18, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
North Florida W 91–59  9–10
(2–2)
 17  Wilson   6  Tied   5  Gibbs  Wellness and Events Center (555)
Newark, NJ
January 20, 2018
4:00 pm, ESPN3
Jacksonville L 61–63  9–11
(2–3)
 16  Lewis   14  Lewis   3  Gibbs  Wellness and Events Center (692)
Newark, NJ
January 24, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Kennesaw State W 66–60  10–11
(3–3)
 27  Tarke   9  Tarke   4  Wilson  KSU Convocation Center (1,119)
Kennesaw, GA
January 27, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Lipscomb L 79–86 OT 10–12
(3–4)
 20  Tarke   9  Bendary   3  Tied  Wellness and Events Center (662)
Newark, NJ
January 29, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Kennesaw State W 74–71  11–12
(4–4)
 20  Lewis   7  Tarke   4  Gibbs  Wellness and Events Center (593)
Newark, NJ
February 3, 2018
5:00 pm, ESPN3
at Lipscomb L 71–77  12–12
(5–4)
 27  Tied   13  Lewis   5  Lewis  Allen Arena (1,650)
Nashville, TN
February 8, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Florida Gulf Coast L 70–75  12–13
(5–5)
 23  Lewis   9  Lewis   3  Tied  Wellness and Events Center (661)
Newark, NJ
February 10, 2018
4:00 pm, ESPN3
Stetson L 80–84  12–14
(5–6)
 21  Cooks   13  Lewis   4  Cooks  Wellness and Events Center (788)
Newark, NJ
February 15, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Jacksonville W 71–69  13–14
(6–6)
 18  Tarke   8  Lewis   3  Cooks  Swisher Gymnasium (827)
Jacksonville, FL
February 17, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at North Florida L 75–86  13–15
(6–7)
 20  Tied   11  Tarke   5  Tarke  UNF Arena (2,292)
Jacksonville, FL
February 22, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at USC Upstate W 76–67  14–15
(7–7)
 13  Jones   11  Lewis   4  Tied  G. B. Hodge Center (833)
Spartanburg, SC
Atlantic Sun tournament
February 26, 2018
7:30 pm, ESPN3
(4) (5) North Florida
Quarterfinals
L 76–80  14–16
 15  Brinson   12  Lewis   4  Gibbs  Wellness and Events Center (1,235)
Newark, NJ
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[2][3]

References

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  1. ^ "'We don't have anything like this.' NJIT unveils $110M athletic center". NJ.com. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  2. ^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Schedule". New Jersey Institute of Technology. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  3. ^ "NJIT Highlanders Basketball 2017-18 Schedule - Highlanders Home and Away - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 14, 2017.