March 12, 2010

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Houston Baptist 74, NJIT 64

OREM, Utah - First team All-GWC honoree and GWC Newcomer of the Year Andrew Gonzalez led No. 2 seed Houston Baptist to a 74-64 win over sixth-seeded NJIT in the Great West Conference semifinals at Orem, Utah.

Joining Gonzalez in double figures was honorable mention all-conference selection Michael Moss with 15 points and second-team all-GWC performer Wendell Preadom with 11. First-team all-conference selection Mario Flaherty grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

HBU got out to a 21-7 lead with 11:45 remaining in the first half before NJIT stormed back and went on a 15-0 run to take a 22-21 lead with 6:31 left in the frame. The Highlanders took a 37-34 lead into the locker room at the half.

In the second stanza, HBU continued to trail until Gonzalez hit a three-pointer with 9:17 remaining to put the Huskies back up by one, 54-53, but NJIT kept it close until the last two-and-a-half minutes when the Huskies started to pull away for the win.

"I thought our guys showed a lot of intensity and set the tone early on both ends of the floor," said HBU coach Ron Cottrell. "NJIT showed a lot of character throughout the last month of the season and tonight, making it tough for us. I was proud of our guys for fighting through it. I have a lot of respect for Jim Engles and the job he's done at NJIT. They fought through a lot with rescheduling of games this season, and I was happy to get the win tonight."

Chris Flores, a second-team all-conference honoree, led four Highlanders in double figures. Sammy Schickel scored 14 points, second-team all-GWC selection Jheryl Wilson scored 13 and honorable mention performer Isaiah Wilkerson added 11 points and pulled down a team-high five rebounds.

Houston Baptist (12-20) enjoyed a 44-25 advantage on the boards but suffered 19 turnovers in the game, compared to 11 for NJIT (10-21).

"I thought we played hard and for the most part we played well," said NJIT coach Jim Engles. "Houston Baptist took control by forcing the tempo in the second half and we weren't able to match their effort on the glass in the second half. That (rebounding vs. HBU) was a big focal point for us. We did a good job in the first half but they dominated us in the second half."

Houston Baptist will face top-seed South Dakota in Saturday's championship game. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. (MT).

HBU-NJIT Box Score