HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, VA…New Jersey City University shot just 1-of-21 from three-point range and could not make up for the absence of four players, including two prominent starters, as the Gothic Knights dropped a 76-62 decision to Albright College, in the opening round of the Car Coop/Weenie Miller Holiday Hoops Tournament, hosted by Hampden-Sydney College at the S. Douglas Fleet Gymnasium.
After a 4-0 start to the season, the loss for NJCU (5-5) is its fifth in six games. Albright (3-6) snaps a five-game losing streak with the victory. It was the first-ever meeting between the schools in men’s basketball and a meeting of the 2006 ECAC Metro and South champions.
With the loss, the Knights will play in Saturday’s 2 p.m. consolation game against host Hampden-Sydney, which lost 70-69 to Shenandoah University in Friday’s other contest.
NJCU was playing without leading scorer and sophomore swingman
DANA JOHN (Hillside, NJ/Pocono Mountain East (Pa.)) and senior point guard
ALEX MIRABEL (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson), along with key reserve guards
JOSH LOPEZ (Jersey City, NJ/St. Mary’s) and
SHY MARTINEZ (Union City, NJ/Union Hill).
In defeat, sophomore guard
KEVIN TUCKER (Jersey City, NJ/Ferris) scored a game and career-high 21 points (8-23 FG) and picked off six steals, but shot 1-of-10 from long range. Junior power forward
MARQUES HILL (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) matched his career high with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, with eight rebounds and four blocks, while senior center
ABRAHAM WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) contributed 12 points (5-9 FG).
Freshman forward/center
LUIS DOMINGUEZ (Hackensack, NJ/Hackensack), a transfer from Saint John’s University, was impressive in his career debut for NJCU. In 19 minutes, the 6-foot-5
Dominguez grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds (seven offensive), and added eight points (4-8 FG) and two blocks.
The Lions received 17 points (8-13 FG) and 16 rebounds (14 defensive) from junior Albert Medoro (Exton, PA/West Chester Henderson) and junior Tom Murphy (Royersford, PA/Spring-Ford) added 17 points (6-10 FG). Junior center Kyle Brudvig (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) chipped in 14 points (5-9 FG).
Also for Albright, senior forward Michael Boles (Philadelphia, PA/Penn Charter) contributed nine points and eight rebounds. Junior point guard Greg Conroy (Collegeville, PA/Perkiomen Valley) scored eight points, while senior point guard Matt Kieselowsky (Moscow, PA/North Pocono) delivered six assists.
NJCU, playing with an eight-man rotation was out-rebounded by a 2-to-1 margin, as Albright owned a 58-29 advantage, including 37-18 on the defensive glass. The Lions had a 27-10 margin in bench scoring.
Albright shot 50.0 percent from the field (29-58) versus 36.2 percent for NJCU (25-69). While NJCU shot 4.8 percent from three-point range, Albright made only 21.4 percent from deep (3-14). NJCU was 24-48 (50.0%) on two-point attempts.
NJCU led early 7-2 before a 12-0 run put the Lions in front 14-7 and Albright never trailed again. The Knights trailed 20-16 at 12:23 of the first half before Albright unleashed a 15-0 run to gain a 36-16 advantage at 3:22 after a lay-up by Medoro. Murphy had eight points during the tear, including two triples. Two free throws by Tucker at 3:10 stopped a scoreless drought of 9:13 for the Knights.
Albright increased its cushion to 40-18 with 1:26 left on a Medoro jumper as the Lions grabbed their largest lead of the game—22 points—and the run to 20-2. NJCU scored its first field goal in a span of 11:22 with 1:01 remaining in the half after missing 14 consecutive shots, before Albright went to the break with a 40-19 lead.
Albright led by double figures the entire second half, including twice by 21. The Knights were able to whittle the deficit to 11 points twice in the final three minutes before losing by 14.
NJCU lost despite only committing nine turnovers in the game—the least giveaways by a Knights team in 42 games, since allowing eight at St. Joseph’s College (ME) on February 25, 2005. However, the 4.8 percent three-point percentage was the lowest in the last 94 games since November 22, 2003 when NJCU was 0-for-8 against Penn State-Altoona.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
|
Team Stat Comparison |
|
|
NJCU |
Albright |
|
Score |
62 |
76 |
|
Half-Time Score |
21 |
40 |
|
Field Goal Percentage |
.362 (25-69) |
.500 (29-58) |
|
Three-Point Percentage |
.048 (1-21) |
.214 (3-14) |
|
Free Throw Percentage |
.550 (11-20) |
.484 (15-31) |
|
Rebounds (O-D-T) |
11-18-29 |
21-37-58 |
|
Assists |
6 |
15 |
|
Turnovers |
9 |
22 |
|
Blocks |
6 |
1 |
|
Steals |
10 |
1 |
|
Fouls |
23 |
17 |
|
Largest Lead |
5 |
22 |
|
Points in the Paint |
28 |
32 |
|
Points off Turnovers |
9 |
20 |
|
Second Change Points |
11 |
8 |
|
Fast Break Points |
Not |
Tracked |
|
Bench Points |
10 |
27 |
