Kent State University
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Kent State Travels to NJIT for Monday Night Contest
12/7/2015 12:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes    Video       Live Stats        Audio
Kent State (4-2) will go for its second consecutive road win Monday night against a NJIT (5-3) team that is excellent at home. The Highlanders have won 10 straight home games and are 19-2 at the Fleisher Athletic Center over the past two seasons. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
The Golden Flashes flew into Newark on Sunday, less than 24 hours after beating Cleveland State, 66-62, at Quicken Loans Arena. The starting frontcourt tandem of senior Khaliq Spicer and redshirt junior Jimmy Hall was too much for the Vikings to handle as the Flashes outscored them in the paint, 40-30. Spicer was terrific around the basket and scored a career-high 22 points on an efficient 9-for-11 shooting and grabbed 8 rebounds. Hall showcased his passing skills and 5 of his career-high 6 assists led to Spicer baskets. He added 14 points of his own along with a team-high 9 rebounds.
The frontcourt of Jimmy Hall (16.5 ppg, 8.3. rpg), Khaliq Spicer (10.7 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and Chris Ortiz (7.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg) has helped Kent State controlled play around the basket. The Flashes own a +9.3 rebounding advantage while outscoring opponents 36.7-25.0 in the paint and 13.2-9.0 on second chance opportunities. The trio has combined for 50 offensive rebounds, which is 8 more than Kent State has allowed.
Redshirt junior Kellon Thomas has displayed more of a scoring mindset in his return to action and is averaging 11.5 points per game. Graduate student Galal Cancer has provided a good all-around floor game with 5.5 points, 2.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game in addition to stretching defenses with a 43.8 percent three-point accuracy. Freshman guard Jaylin Walker (5.0 ppg) has averaged 6.7 points per game since being inserted into the starting lineup three games ago.
The Flashes are receiving almost 12 more points per game off the bench than their opponents. Redshirt senior Xavier Pollard leads the way with 11.3 points per game and adds 2.5 assists per game. Pollard scored a season-high 23 points at Pittsburgh. Redshirt juniors Deon Edwin and Marvin Jones add 4.3 and 2.4 points per game, respectively.
Scouting NJIT
NJIT has won two straight games following a two-game losing streak to Providence and Albany. The Highlanders' other loss came in the season-opener at No. 2 Kentucky. One of the nation's top shooting team's NJIT ranks 4th in the country in free throw percentage (.804) and 46th in three-point field goals per game (9.3).
With their tallest starter stands just 6'6" tall, the Highlanders rely on their strong perimeter play. Damon Lynn leads the way at 18.8 points per game and ranks 7th in the country with 31 three-point field goals. Tim Coleman adds 12.9 points per game and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game. Ky Howard and Winfield Willis also average double-figures with 13.4 and 10.5 points per game, respectively.
Series History
• This will be the first meeting on the hardwood between the two schools.
• NJIT is the second of two first-time opponents on the Golden Flashes' schedule this season.
• The Flashes are 3-1 all-time vs. schools from the Atlantic Sun. Most recently, Kent State defeated Kennesaw State, 58-46, last December 6 in Kennesaw, Ga.
TV / Radio
Ty Linder will bring you the action on the Golden Flashes iHeartRadio channel and the game will be streamed on ESPN3.
Next Up For Kent State
The Golden Flashes will play their next four games as part of the 2015 Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic. The Flashes will host Louisiana-Monroe (Dec. 10) and Canisius (Dec. 12) at the M.A.C. Center before traveling to Las Vegas for two games on Dec. 22-23.
