2015–16 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team

The 2015–16 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team represented the New Jersey Institute of Technology during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Highlanders, led by eighth year head coach Jim Engles, played their home games at the Fleisher Center. After two seasons as the only Division I independent, they were first year members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They finished the season 20–15, 8–6 in A-Sun play to finish in to finish in a three way tie for second place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the A-Sun tournament to Stetson. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Army, Boston University, and Texas–Arlington to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Columbia.

2015–16 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball
CIT, Semifinals
ConferenceAtlantic Sun Conference
Record20–15 (8–6 A-Sun)
Head coach
Assistant coachBrian Kennedy
Jesse Agel
Kim Waiters
Home arenaFleisher Center (cap. 1600)
Seasons
2015–16 Atlantic Sun men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
North Florida 10 4   .714 22 12   .647
NJIT 8 6   .571 20 15   .571
Jacksonville 8 6   .571 16 16   .500
Florida Gulf Coast 8 6   .571 21 14   .600
Kennesaw State 7 7   .500 11 20   .355
Lipscomb 7 7   .500 12 21   .364
Stetson* 4 10   .286 12 22   .353
USC Upstate 4 10   .286 10 22   .313
*ineligible for the 2016 NCAA tournament due to APR violations
2016 Atlantic Sun Tournament winner

On April 1, head coach Jim Engles resigned to become the head coach at Columbia.[1] He finished at NJIT with an eight-year record of 111–139.

Roster

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[2]

Number Name Position Height Weight Year Hometown
0 Ky Howard Guard 6–4 185 Senior Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2 Tim Coleman Forward 6–5 210 Junior Union, New Jersey
3 Chris Jenkins Guard/Forward 6–4 215 Sophomore Hillside, New Jersey
5 Damon Lynn Guard 5–11 165 Junior Hillside, New Jersey
11 Winfield Willis Guard 6–0 180 Senior Baltimore, Maryland
12 Abdul Lewis Forward 6–9 225 Sophomore Irvington, New Jersey
14 Reilly Walsh Guard 6–3 180 Freshman Staten Island, New York
15 Terrence Smith Forward 6–6 195 Junior Fort Lauderdale, Florida
23 Osa Izevbuwa Guard 6–3 230 Junior Staten Island, New York
24 Emmanuel Tselentakis Guard 6–5 205 Senior Thessaloniki, Greece
25 Rob Ukawuba Guard 6–3 210 Junior East Brunswick, New Jersey
33 Vlad Shustov Forward 6–10 225 Sophomore Tomsk, Russia
34 Mohamed Bendary Forward 6–9 235 Freshman Jersey City, New Jersey

Schedule

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[3]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
11/14/2015*
7:00 pm, SECN
at No. 2 Kentucky
Hoophall Miami Invitational
L 57–87  0–1
Rupp Arena (22,671)
Lexington, KY
11/16/2015*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at South Florida
Hoophall Miami Invitational
W 60–57  1–1
USF Sun Dome (2,672)
Tampa, FL
11/19/2015*
7:30 pm, ESPN3
Boston University
Hoophall Miami Invitational
W 90–76  2–1
Fleisher Center (1,488)
Newark, NJ
11/21/2015*
4:00 pm, ESPN3
Lafayette W 80–66  3–1
Fleisher Center (1,000)
Newark, NJ
11/23/2015*
6:30 pm, FS1
at Providence L 76–83  3–2
Dunkin' Donuts Center (5,009)
Providence, RI
11/27/2015*
7:00 pm
at Albany
Hoophall Miami Invitational
L 73–74  3–3
SEFCU Arena (3,253)
Albany, NY
11/29/2015*
2:00 pm
Maine–Fort Kent W 89–60  4–3
Fleisher Center (400)
Newark, NJ
12/05/2015*
4:00 pm, ESPN3
UMass Lowell W 90–77  5–3
Fleisher Center (1,011)
Newark, NJ
12/07/2015*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Kent State L 75-80  5–4
Fleisher Center (987)
Newark, NJ
12/10/2015*
7:00 pm
at St. Francis Brooklyn W 92–86 OT 6–4
Generoso Pope Athletic Complex (575)
Brooklyn, NY
12/12/2015*
7:00 pm
at Columbia L 56–65  6–5
Levien Gymnasium (1,244)
New York City, NY
12/20/2015*
4:00 pm, FS1
at St. John's W 83–74  7–5
Carnesecca Arena (4,414)
Queens, NY
12/28/2015*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Stony Brook L 61–83  7–6
Fleisher Center (900)
Newark, NJ
12/30/2015*
7:00 pm
at Saint Francis (PA) W 77–65  8–6
DeGol Arena (632)
Loretto, PA
01/02/2016*
4:00 pm, ESPN3
UMBC W 86–83  9–6
Fleisher Center (510)
Newark, NJ
01/06/2016*
7:00 pm
at Yale L 65–83  9–7
Payne Whitney Gymnasium (886)
New Haven, CT
Atlantic Sun Conference regular season
01/09/2016
4:00 pm, ESPN3
USC Upstate L 78–80  9–8
(0–1)
Fleisher Center (882)
Newark, NJ
01/14/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Florida Gulf Coast L 78–82 OT 9–9
(0–2)
Alico Arena (4,124)
Fort Myers, FL
01/16/2016
3:30 pm, ESPN3
at Stetson W 71–59  10–9
(1–2)
Edmunds Center (512)
DeLand, FL
01/21/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Jacksonville W 83–63  11–9
(2–2)
Fleisher Center (755)
Newark, NJ
01/24/2016
6:00 pm, ESPN3
North Florida L 80–94  11–10
(2–3)
Fleisher Center (555)
Newark, NJ
01/27/2016
8:00 pm, ESPN3
Lipscomb L 72–81  11–11
(2–4)
Fleisher Center (779)
Newark, NJ
01/30/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Kennesaw State W 75–67  12–11
(3–4)
KSU Convocation Center (1,623)
Kennesaw, GA
02/01/2016
7:30 pm, ESPN3
at Lipscomb W 90–78  13–11
(4–4)
Allen Arena (1,713)
Nashville, TN
02/06/2016
4:00 pm, ESPN3
Kennesaw State W 78–59  14–11
(5–4)
Fleisher Center (1,322)
Newark, NJ
02/11/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Stetson W 74–70  15–11
(6–4)
Fleisher Center (805)
Newark, NJ
02/13/2016
4:00 pm, ESPN3
Florida Gulf Coast W 68–59  16–11
(7–4)
Fleisher Center (1,203)
Newark, NJ
02/18/2016
2:00 pm, ESPN3
at North Florida L 71–107  16–12
(7–5)
UNF Arena (2,611)
Jacksonville, FL
02/20/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Jacksonville W 73–58  17–12
(8–5)
Swisher Gymnasium (1,003)
Jacksonville, FL
02/25/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at USC Upstate L 71–72  17–13
(8–6)
G. B. Hodge Center (568)
Spartanburg, SC
Atlantic Sun Tournament
03/01/2016
7:30 pm, ESPN3
(2) (7) Stetson
Quarterfinals
L 67–82  17–14
Fleisher Center (1,022)
Newark, NJ
CIT
03/16/2016*
7:30 pm, ESPN3
Army
First round
W 79–65  18–14
Fleisher Center (855)
Newark, NJ
03/21/2016*
7:30 pm, ESPN3
Boston University
Second round
W 83–72  19–14
Fleisher Center (1,134)
Newark, NJ
03/24/2016*
7:30 pm, ESPN3
Texas–Arlington
Quarterfinals
W 63–60  20–14
Fleisher Center (1,383)
Newark, NJ
03/27/2016*
6:00 pm, CBSSN
at Columbia
Semifinals
L 65–80  20–15
Levien Gymnasium (1,249)
New York City, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

References

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  1. ^ "Jim Engles leaving NJIT, takes over at Columbia". New York Daily News.
  2. ^ "NJIT Highlanders 2015-16 Men's Basketball Roster". Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  3. ^ "2015-16 Men's Basketball Schedule".