NEWARK, N.J. -- Kendrick Ray scored 22 points, including the winning layup, to lift Kennesaw State to a 54-53 win over NJIT on Monday night.

Trailing by six late in the game, Kennesaw State (10-14, 4-4 Atlantic Sun) took the lead during a 10-0 run that put the Owls on top 50-46 with 3:09 left. Ray and Nick Masterson sparked the run with back-to-back 3-pointers.

NJIT (9-15, 1-7) retook the lead with 17 seconds left when Shyquan Gibbs dropped in a layup to make it 53-52. Ray then got the winning jumper with six seconds to go and Kennesaw State got the rebound after NJIT's Tim Coleman missed a 3-pointer just ahead of the buzzer.

Masterson finished with 15 points.

NJIT led throughout the first half but went scoreless over a nearly 8 1/2 minute stretch spanning both sides of the intermission.

Abdul Lewis led NJIT with 20 points and Gibbs had 16.