JERSEY CITY, NJ…New Jersey City University jumped out to an early 24-8 lead on The College of New Jersey, the No. 2 ranked scoring defense in Division III, and held off a late Lions surge, to remain in a tie for first place in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, with a 63-59 victory in an NJAC game at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center. NJCU is 8-0 at home this season.
NJCU improves to 11-4 overall and 7-2 in the NJAC by defeating TCNJ (10-6, 4-5 NJAC) for the seventh time in the last eight meetings, and the eighth consecutive time at home. The Gothic Knights have won their last nine games against a conference opponent at home since the 2003-04 season. It was the fourth time this season NJCU has held an opponent under 60 on the scoreboard.
NJCU was led by freshman forward
DANA JOHN (Hillside, NJ/Pocono Mountain (PA)), who poured in 20 points (8-of-16), with five rebounds. Junior center
ABRAHAM WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) came off the bench to contribute 10 points (4-9 FG) and five rebounds in 20 minutes for the victors. Junior point guard
ALEX MIRABEL (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) tallied nine points and eight rebounds and senior swingman
MARK WASHINGTON (East Orange, NJ/West Side) chipped in eight points.
TCNJ received game highs of 23 points (7-24 FG) and 12 rebounds (11 defensive) from its fifth all-time leading scorer, senior forward Scott Findlay (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris), who played all 40 minutes. Junior forward Matt Diamond (Ringwood, NJ/Lakeland) notched 19 points (6-13 FG) and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench, and converted 3-of-6 from three-point land. No other TCNJ player collected more than six points or four rebounds.
After an early 8-8 tie, NJCU vaulted to a 24-8 cushion at 9:35, as
John and
Washington drilled a pair of threes separated by 31 seconds, and
Williams and senior forward
BEN BALCOM (Monroe, NJ/St. Patrick’s (Elizabeth)) followed with layups. The Gothic Knights would never trail again, as NJCU used a 16-0 run to pull ahead, and the Lions went 7:53 without scoring.
TCNJ clawed back into the game, as its defense held NJCU without a field goal for 8:49, and limited the Knights to just one point in a span of 8:04 following the 16-0 run. That allowed the Lions to unleash a 14-1 run of their own and draw within 25-22 at 1:01 as Diamond hit a three. The spurt extended to 16-3 before the Knights went to the half ahead 27-24.
In the second half, NJCU moved ahead 33-26 at 16:13 as junior power forward
DEVIN DAVIS (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Regional) turned an offensive rebound into a thunderous dunk, and a
Mirabel jumper at 12:00 made it 40-32. A
Washington layup at 4:43 gave NJCU its largest lead since the first half, a 13-point, 53-40 margin. NJCU maintained an 11-point cushion with only 1:35 remaining, as
John finished a layup for a 58-47 lead.
TCNJ battled back in the final moments. A Diamond three at 1:22, followed by two Findlay free throws shaved the lead to 58-52 and a three-point play by Diamond with 23.1 seconds remaining trimmed the NJCU advantage to three, 58-55. After NJCU missed two free throws, a Findlay bucket off a feed from Diamond allowed TCNJ to draw within one point, 58-57, with 15.1 seconds remaining. It was the closest the Lions had been since the 14:28 mark of the first half.
However, Washington hit first free throw in a 1-on-1 situation, and despite missing the second chance, Balcom grabbed a crucial offensive rebound. Mirabel converted a pair of freebies, and after a TCNJ layup, Balcom made two more at the line as NJCU prevailed 63-59.
TCNJ entered the game allowing only 55.0 points per game, while NJCU was ranked 42nd in the nation at 81.4 per contest. The 63-point output by NJCU was its lowest of the season, but marked the third time in four tries that the Knights have won scoring less than 70 points.
NJCU shot 38.3 percent (23-60) and just 3-of-17 from deep (.176), with 56.0 percent shooting at the line. The Lions struggled more, making just 18-of-55 (.327). TCNJ made 3-of-13 from three-point range (.231), but were able to hit 20-of-27 at the stripe (.741). TCNJ owned a slight 42-41 edge in rebounding. NJCU was able to transition 20 Lions’ turnovers into a 24-9 scoring advantage off miscues.
NJCU will return to action on Saturday, January 21 at 3 p.m. when it visits Ramapo College in an NJAC game at the Bradley Center in Mahwah, NJ. TCNJ will host William Paterson University at the same time.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
