JERSEY CITY, NJ…Four players reached double figures for New Jersey City University which never trailed and used a 17-0 run in the early stages of the game to take control, as the Gothic Knights easily defeated John Jay College, 71-47, in a non-conference men’s basketball game at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center. It was the 2005-06 home opener for NJCU.
The Gothic Knights improve to 2-2 overall, while John Jay drops to 0-5 and loses for the ninth consecutive time since last season. NJCU leads the all-time series, 9-0.
Freshman forward
DASHAN MARTIN (Rahway, NJ/Rahway) led all scorers with 11 points off the bench for NJCU on 5-of-8 shooting, and added two blocks.
Junior point guard
ALEX MIRABEL (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson), sophomore guard
CHARLES COLES (Hillside, NJ/Hillside), and freshman swingman
DANA JOHN (Hillside, NJ/Pocono Mountain) each scored 10 for the Knights.
John was making his first career start, and shot 5-of-7 with five rebounds.
Mirabel tallied five steals and four assists, hitting 4-of-9 shots.
Coles contributed five assists and five rebounds.
Junior center
DEVIN DAVIS (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Regional) added nine rebounds (seven offensive), six points, and three assists. Senior forward
BEN BALCOM (Monroe, NJ/St. Patrick’s (Elizabeth)) had nine points and five steals.
All 11 players in uniform for NJCU saw at least 11 minutes of action and none played more than 24. NJCU was without senior swingman
MARK WASHINGTON (East Orange, NJ/West Side), the team’s leading scorer at 22.7 per game, and senior guard
ROB FREENEY (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway), who both rested.
The Bloodhounds received 10 points from junior guard Jason Parker (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Loughlin), who made 3-of-6, but committed 10 turnovers. Freshman forward Alex Valerio (Flushing, NY/Francis Lewis) hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds (eight defensive), chipping in five points and four steals. Sophomore guard Vince Calderon (Woodside, NY/Queens Vocational) finished with nine points and four steals for JJC.
Leading 4-3 at 18:50, NJCU unleashed a 17-0 run over a span of 7:01 to seize a 21-3 lead at 11:49. NJCU led by 20 at the break, 37-17, after possessing a 22-point first-half margin. The Knights never led by less than 22 in the second period. NJCU’s largest lead was 30, 57-27, after Martin finished a lay-up at 10:13.
NJCU had a 26-4 edge in fast-break points, and notched 42 of its 71 in the paint, owning a 42-18 margin. JJC committed 33 turnovers, compared to 18 by the Knights. NJCU translated those miscues into a 38-12 advantage in points off turnovers.
NJCU out-rebounded JJC, 41-37. Neither squad shot well. NJCU made 38.6 percent of its attempts (27-70) and were just 3-of-18 from three-point range (16.7%). The Bloodhounds hit 16-of-49 from the field (32.7%) and 3-of-13 treys (23.1%).
NJCU returns to action on Wednesday, November 30 at 8 p.m. in a New Jersey Athletic Conference home contest against Rutgers University-Newark. JJC visits City Tech at 7 p.m. the same night.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
