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 Nesho Milosevic notched 27 points, 12 rebounds |
Feb. 2, 2008
NEWARK, NJ - NJIT got personal and program-record performances from Nesho Milosevic and Kraig Peters, but visiting Utah Valley had some star power of its own and came out ahead of the determined Highlanders, 81-69, Saturday afternoon in a Division I Independent men's basketball matchup in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
Milosevic scored 27 points, including 22 in the second half, and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for the Highlanders. The 27 points were his personal career high (scored 25 at Navy a month ago on January 2) and they also matched the highest scoring game by an NJIT player since the program moved up to Division I competition at the start of the 2006-07 season (Clayton Barker also scored 27 last February 8 vs. South Dakota State).
Peters, NJIT's senior captain, matched his personal Division I scoring high with 21 points (scored 21 this season against Rutgers on December 13 and his overall career high is 23, which he did at the Division II level against Mansfield, PA, in December 2005).
They were the only double-figure scorers for the Highlanders, but freshman Justin Garris scored nine points and delivered a team-best seven assists, more than doubling his previous high of three (December 8 vs. Fordham). He also made a team-leading three steals, matching his career high, which he did twice before. Garris got three of his points on a crowd-pleasing driving dunk down the lane in traffic and then a free throw,
Utah Valley had some star performances of its own, led by junior guard Ryan Toolson, who scored a game-high 29 points, leading four double-figure scorers for the visitors, who won their fifth in a row.
NJIT's previous two opponents also came to town and extended significant winning streaks, as Texas-Pan American won its sixth straight by defeating the Highlanders on January 26 and Loyola (MD) won its fifth straight with a victory over NJIT on January 29.
Toolson was supported by fellow junior Josh Olsen (16 points), senior Richard Troyer (11) and senior Jordan Brady (10). All four double-figure scorers for the Wolverines were starters.
Olsen added a team-best seven assists and game-high four steals, while Brady collected nine rebounds to pace the Wolverines in that category.
After a slow scoring start by both teams (7-7 score through the first six minutes), Utah Valley gained the upper hand in the latter part of the first half, taking its first double-figure lead, 23-12, on Matt Komenda's slam dunk and free throw with 7:57 left.
The Wolverines, who led by as many as 15 in the opening half, going up 35-20 on Toolson's triple with 3:02 left, settled for a 41-31 halftime led by Toolson's 10 points. Peters scored 13 for the Highlanders.
Utah Valley was strong to start the second half and pushed its lead to 16 points, 53-37, on Troyer's three-pointer with 15:18 left.
But NJIT, which has experienced difficulty staying close in the face of second-half runs by the opposition, hung in against Utah Valley and twice cut the deficit as low as seven points, both times on Milosevic layups with 4:01 and 1:32 remaining, respectively.
The Milosevic basket at 1:32 cut the deficit to 74-67, but the Wolverines scored seven unanswered points--six by Toolson--in the next 1:10 to steal the win. Four of the points came at the foul line, where Toolson finished 11-for-12. He is 121-for-127 (95 percent) at the foul line for the season.
NJIT will return to action quickly, hosting Longwood at 7 pm on Monday night in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center. That game will close a stretch that will have seen the Highlanders play six out of seven games, including the last four, at home.
After the Longwood game, NJIT will play four of its last five contests on the road, with the only exception being a Senior Day home contest against Chicago State at 4 pm on February 16.
