New Jersey City University Athletics

 

JERSEY CITY, NJ…Junior All-America guard DANA JOHN (Hillside, NJ/Pocono Mountain East (Pa.)) scored 15 of his team-high 28 points in the second half and shot a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line, as New Jersey City University rallied from a 12-point second half deficit to hand rival Rowan University its first loss, 82-77, in the New Jersey Athletic Conference opener for both schools, Saturday at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center. The clutch John had 14 points late in the game after NJCU fell behind by a dozen.

 

NJCU wins its second straight to improve to 4-2 overall and 1-0 NJAC, while previously unbeaten Rowan is 3-1 and 0-1. NJCU has now five of the last six meetings with the Profs, in a series which began in 1938-39. NJCU won despite Rowan shooting 63.6 percent from the field in the second half (14-22).

 

John, who made 8-of-8 from the line in the second half alone, finished with 28 points to bring his career total to 971—just 29 shy of becoming the 26^th member of the 1000-point club. He shot 7-of-18 from the line and 3-of-8 from three-point range, matching his career-high with six steals in 35 minutes.

NJCU is now 14-4 all-time when John scores 20 in a game. It is the fourth time this season in six games he has scored 20, bringing his scoring average to 22.7. It’s the third time he has scored 20 against Rowan.

 

Senior point guard SHY MARTINEZ (Union City, NJ/Union Hill) collected 15 points (5-9 FG, 4-4 FT) and five assists, and hit a decisive jumper with 39 seconds left that put NJCU ahead to stay. Sophomore point guard JOSH LOPEZ (Jersey City, NJ/St. Mary’s (Jersey City)) also had 15 points—11 in the first half—shooting 4-of-7 from the field, 2-of-5 from three-point range and 5-of-7 from the line.

 

Senior swingman Matt Byrnes (Mays Landing, NJ/Oakcrest) had a game-high 30 points (9-15 FG), shooting 5-of-6 from three-point range and 7-of-9 from the line, with six rebounds and three steals in 36 minutes. He hit the trey with 11:30 left that put Rowan ahead by 12, 59-47. But he did not convert another shot the remainder of the game, and tallied only a pair of foul shots down the stretch.

 

Junior guard Kevin Darby (Atco, NJ/Hammonton) added 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and three steals, but had seven turnovers. Freshman guard Michael Farrow (Whitesboro, NJ/Middle Township) had 13 points in 15 reserve minutes (7-10 FT). Junior forward Rahim Shiver (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) finished with a game-high seven rebounds.

 

In an inter-divisional game between the 2007 North Division champions (NJCU) and South titleists (Rowan), there were eight ties and seven lead changes. After an 18-18 tie with 11:04 left, NJCU led by as many as 13 in the period, after a 17-4 run staked the Knights to a 35-22 lead on a Lopez three with 4:17 left in the half. Lopez scored 11 of NJCU’s 17 during the spurt, including two triples.

 

But the Profs finished the period on a 13-2 run to cut the gap to two at the break, 37-35. Byrnes scored 11 of Rowan’s 13 points, including two triples, one off a steal as time expired.

 

Rowan continued its hot shooting hand early in the second half, taking the lead with 18:05 left, and went ahead by four with 15:17 left, before a John three made it 48-47. From there, Rowan made four of five shots, and Byrnes scored eight points, as the Profs strung together an 11-0 outburst over 3:41 to gain its 59-47 lead with 11:30 remaining.

 

But NJCU slowly began chipping away at the double digit deficit. Freshman guard MAURICE WARD (Delran, NJ/Timber Creek) nailed a three with 9:51 left that helped spark a 14-2 run that eventually saw NJCU tie the game at 61-61 off a lay-up by Lopez and a jumper by senior power forward MARQUES HILL (Hillside, NJ/Hillside; six points, five rebounds) with 6:23 left.

 

The clubs traded two more ties before freshman forward DEREK MILLER (Newark, NJ/East Side) hit a three with 4:11 left for a 68-66 lead, and a John lay-up at 3:47 broke a seventh tie. Martinez made it 72-69 with a jumper (3:10) and a Miller steal led to a fast-break John bucket (2:52) for a 74-69 margin.

 

Two free throws by Farrow and a Darby lay-up cut the lead to one, 74-73 with 2:05 left and after a scoreless minute, Byrnes sank two freebies to allow Rowan to momentarily move back on top, 75-74.

 

But Martinez hit a jumper from the right foul line extended to put NJCU back in front, 76-75 with 39 seconds to play, and following a Farrow turnover, John converted 6-of-6 from the line in the final 27 seconds to put the game away and give NJCU a five-point victory.

NJCU shot 40.0 percent (24-60), hit nine threes (.375, 0-24) and made 25-of-37 at the line (.676). Rowan, which had a 32-16 edge in points in the paint, shot 54.0 percent overall (27-50), .400 from deep (6-15) and .654 at the line (17-26). Rowan committed 27 of the 47 turnovers between the teams.

 

NJCU returns to action on Monday, December 3 at 7 p.m. when it visits 2007 NCAA qualifier Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY. Rowan hosts Neumann College on December 5 at 7 p.m.