Wednesday, November 14th, 7:30 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Bank of America Arena (10,000) -- Seattle, Washington. Television: None. Home Record: NJIT 0-1, High Point 0-0. Away Record: NJIT 0-1, High Point 0-1. Neutral Record: NJIT 0-0, High Point 0-1. Conference Record: NJIT 0-0, High Point 0-0. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: A couple of teams searching for their first wins of the season take the floor in Seattle tonight, as the NJIT Highlanders confront the High Point Panthers in the consolation game of the West Regional for the NIT Season Tip- Off at Bank of America Arena. On Tuesday night, the Highlanders went from dropping a home bout versus Manhattan in their opener to allowing Washington to run all over them in an 88-47 verdict. As for the Panthers, they too are now winless after two games on the young season, having dropped a 61-55 contest to Charlotte on the road last week and then bowing to Utah last night by a final of 77-64. With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, this is the first-ever meeting.

Allowing Washington to shoot a stellar 65.4 percent from the field in the first half wasn't the best way to make a first impression out west last night, but that's exactly how the Highlanders handled the first half of play. Justin Garris ended up the only player in double digits for NJIT with his 10 points, although he could have had even more were it not for the fact that he missed all five of his free-throw attempts. In fact, NJIT was absolutely horrendous at the stripe as a group, making just 2-of-13 opportunities. Now, had they moved the free-throw line back behind the three-point line maybe things would have been different, considering the team made 7-of-14 out on the perimeter. A total of 29 turnovers killed the team, with 10 of those being logged by Jheryl Wilson. The Highlanders are off to a rough start to say the least, after shooting just 16.7 percent from the field and posting a mere 28 points in the opener versus Manhattan. In that contest not a single player scored in double figures, with Nesho Milosevic coming closest with his eight points, to go along with eight rebounds.

The Panthers shot a decent 46 percent from the field on Tuesday night against Utah so offensively the team seemed to be doing okay, but that was without taking into consideration the defense. High Point allowed the Utes to shoot not only 54 percent from the floor but also 9-of-17 behind the three-point line in the 13-point decision. Arizona Reid against proved how valuable he is against a program from a more notable conference, as he recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, adding four assists and a couple of steals, while Mike Jefferson chipped in 17 points on the strength of 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. In the opener versus Charlotte, Reid was a one-man wrecking crew with his 26 points, 11 rebounds and five steals, but it was the rest of the team, one that had a total of 21 turnovers, that let him down in the setback. Against the 49ers the team held its own on the glass with 35 boards, but versus Utah the Panthers managed just 20 rebounds overall.

Despite improving their scoring output from the season opener to the tournament opener, the Highlanders are still playing way out of their league and while it might be fun to travel to new places and meet new people, the excitement for NJIT is going to wear off real soon if it gets beat down once again.

Predicted Outcome

High Point 72, NJIT 49