New Jersey City University Athletics

 

UNION, NJ…Freshman power forward JEFFERSON MWANGO (Cherry Hill, NJ/Perth Amboy) came off the bench to grab an offensive rebound and put back a short jumper with 27 seconds left and he combined with sophomore guard JOSH LOPEZ (Jersey City, NJ/St. Mary’s (Jersey City)) to score 14 of New Jersey City University’s final 16 points, as NJCU reeled off a 20-3 run in the final 5:56 to complete a comeback from a 14-point deficit and defeated Kean University, 59-56, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference inter-divisional game on Saturday at the Harwood Arena.

 

NJCU, playing without junior All-America guard DANA JOHN (Hillside, NJ/Pocono Mountain East (Pa.)) won despite committing 31 turnovers, shooting 31 percent from the field and 52 percent from the free throw line.

 

The Gothic Knights win their 14^th consecutive NJAC regular season game dating to last season to improve to 10-4 and 3-0 in the NJAC. Kean falls to 5-9 and 1-2 NJAC. It was NJCU’s seventh consecutive win over Kean since the 2003-04 season. NJCU reached double figures in victories for the 41^st consecutive season, dating to 1966-67.

 

In all three of NJCU’s conference wins this season, the Knights have trailed by at least 12 points in the second half before rallying for a victory. The win marked the second consecutive season NJCU has used a late surge to defeat Kean. Last year, NJCU used a 17-4 run over the final 6:44 of regulation to erase a five-point deficit to the Cougars before winning 67-59.

 

Mwango posted career highs of nine points and seven rebounds, while Lopez, who played 15 reserve minutes, scored all eight of his points (3-7 FG; 2-5 3FG) in the final 3:29 of the game.

 

Junior guard KEVIN TUCKER (Jersey City, NJ/Ferris)—in only his second game of the season—scored 11 points (4-11 FG) and shot 3-of-8 from three-point range, with six rebounds and four assists, while senior guard AARON DESIR (Hillside, NJ/Hillside), making only his fourth career start, added 11 points (4-9 FG; 2-6 3FG).

 

Senior center MARQUES HILL (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) added a game-high nine rebounds, while sophomore power forward DASHAN MARTIN (Rahway, NJ/Rahway) had eight rebounds and seven points.

 

Kean received a game-high 20 points (6-10 FG; 6-7 FT) from rookie guard Keith Williams (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter), who had 16 in the first half as the Cougars built a 15-point lead. Freshman forward Jonathan Jones (Linden, NJ/Linden) tallied 15 points while making 6-of-6 field goals, contributing a career-high nine rebounds (eight defensive), four blocks and four steals. Senior guard Lamar Wright (Galloway, NJ/Absegami) had 11 points (4-12 FG), five rebounds and five steals. Freshman forward Akinwande Oshodi (Florence, NJ/Florence) had seven points and five blocks before fouling out.

 

Trailing 12-7 with 11:52 left in the first half, Kean used a 22-2 run over a span of 9:29 to lead by 15 (29-24) with 2:23 remaining in the period. NJCU committed 11 turnovers during that stretch, while shooting just 1-of-8 from the field. A three-pointer by Tucker with 15 seconds left in the half allowed NJCU to trim the deficit to seven (31-24) at halftime.

 

A three by Tucker early in the second half brought NJCU within six (34-28) before KU regained a double digit lead for most of the second half. That margin grew to as many as 14 after Jones converted two foul shots with 5:56 left for a 53-39 advantage. But Kean only converted one field goal in the final 8:36 of the game, shooting 1-of-8 to close the contest, while committing nine of its 27 turnovers in that time.

 

After a lay-up by freshman forward DEREK MILLER (Newark, NJ/East Side) with 4:34 left, he assisted on a three by Lopez with 3:29 remaining that cut it to seven (54-47). After Jones was whistled for an intentional foul, Mwango drilled two free throws, and added a lay-up on the ensuing possession to draw NJCU within three, 54-51, with 2:26 left. Wright increased Kean’s lead to five, 56-51, with an uncontested lay-up with 2:11 on the clock, but the Cougars would not score again.

 

Lopez nailed a three with 1:46 remaining to make it a two-point game (56-54), then forced a tie at 56-56 when his jumper off a Miller steal fell through at 1:19. After a Kean missed shot, Mwango grabbed a rebound. Moments later, Mwango missed a short lay-up, but seized the offensive rebound and followed with a four-foot jumper with 27 seconds left to give NJCU its first lead, 58-56, since 9:51 remained in the first half.

 

Kean was forced into another turnover when sophomore forward BRUCE RICE (Blackwood, NJ/Triton Regional), who had subbed into the game for defensive purposes just 13 seconds earlier and played a season low five minutes on the day, snatched a decisive steal with 11 seconds left, and after being fouled, made one free throw to increase NJCU’s edge to 59-56. The Cougars missed a potential tying three-pointer in the final seconds and Mwango grabbed the final board.

 

NJCU shot just 30.6 percent overall (19-62), was 8-of-25 from three-point range (.320) and 13-of-25 from the line (.520), in addition to its 31 turnovers, but had a 51-32 rebounding margin, including 22-9 on the offensive glass, leading to 13 second chance points. NJCU also had a 27-13 edge in bench scoring. Kean shot .385 overall (20-52) and .200 from deep (3-15). The 31 NJCU turnovers were eight more than in any previous game this season and the most since committing 38 in an 82-69 loss at Wilkes University on November 29, 2004. It was the most giveaways in a win since also committing 31 in an 89-69 victory over Farmingdale State on December 12, 2001.

 

NJCU returns to action on Wednesday, January 16 at 8 p.m. when it hosts Rutgers-Newark in an NJAC North Division contest at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.