New Jersey City University Athletics

 

JERSEY CITY, NJ…Junior All-America guard DANA JOHN (Hillside, NJ/Pocono Mountain East (Pa.)) scored 12 of New Jersey City University’s first 19 points, and finished with a game-high 17, and junior guard KEVIN TUCKER (Jersey City, NJ/Ferris) had a season high seven assists, as New Jersey City University improved to 7-0 at home this season, breezing past Montclair State University, 76-61, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference North Division game at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.

 

NJCU, which led by as many as 22 points, improves to 12-5 and 5-1 in the NJAC. The Knights are now 15-1 in their last 16 conference games. MSU falls to 9-8 and 2-3 NJAC. NJCU has now won five straight and 6-of-7 over the Red Hawks. It was the 146^th meeting between the schools. A combined 33 players logged time in the game between the clubs.

 

NJCU led by as many as 17 points in the first half and owned a 10-point cushion at the break (36-26), as MSU was held to .273 shooting in the opening period (9-33).

 

John, who was limited to 13 points in a loss to William Paterson University on Saturday, had 14 alone in 13 minutes in the first half, shooting 6-of-9 in the period and 2-of-5 from three-point range. He finished with 17 points in just 18 minutes, shooting 7-of-10 overall and 3-of-6 from three point territory. He played just five minutes in the second half. John remains 19^th in school history in scoring, now with 1,140 points.

 

KEVIN TUCKER" src="/images/mbasket/2008/1/23/01-20-07%20Kevin%20Tucker%208.jpg" width=150 align=left border=0>Tucker had a near triple-double, finishing with eight rebounds, seven assists and seven points in 21 minutes. Freshman forward DEREK MILLER (Newark, NJ/East Side) had six points in the first half (2-4 3FG), and finished with 12 points off the bench.

 

Also for NJCU, senior swingman AARON DESIR (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) had a solid defensive effort, finishing with seven points (3-6 FG) and four steals in 14 minutes. Senior center MARQUES HILL (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) matched Tucker with a game-high eight rebounds. Sophomore center LUIS DOMINGUEZ (Hackensack, NJ/Hackensack) had three first half blocks—all on the same MSU possession, to set the early tone.

 

MSU received a team-best 16 points (5-7 FG; 2-4 3FG) from freshman guard Chris McCann (Sparta, NJ/Sparta) in 25 reserve minutes, while freshman guard Tom Bonard (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) had 11 points on 9-of-10 free throw shooting, and three assists. Junior forward Carlos Pena (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) collected seven rebounds and six points, while sophomore guard Mike Hern (Hamburg, NJ/Wallkill Valley) tallied eight points (2-5 3FG), five boards and four steals.

 

John staked NJCU to an early 9-3 lead with seven consecutive points, and he scored 12 of his team’s first 19 points, as the Knights gained a 19-7 lead and never looked back. A pair of threes by Miller extended the first half advantage to 17, 32-15, before the schools went to the intermission separated by 10 (36-26).

 

NJCU put the game out of reach in the first 3:34 of the second half, as the Knights uncorked a 10-2 spurt to pull ahead 46-28 after back-to-back threes by senior guard SHY MARTINEZ (Union City, NJ/Union Hill) and John. The Hawks never came closer than 12 the remainder of the contest. Leading 48-36, NJCU gathered one final decisive scoring outburst, a 12-2 streak that saw the lead swell to 22 on two occasions, including 60-38 on a Desir lay-up off a Tucker feed. Desir hit an earlier three during the run.

 

Overall, NJCU connected on nine three-pointers in the game (9-23, .391) and shot .394 for the night (28-71). MSU made 19-of-59 (.322). NJCU out-rebounded the Hawks, 51-43.

 

NJCU returns to action on Saturday, January 26 at 2 p.m. when it visits Richard Stockton College in an NJAC interdivisional game in Pomona, NJ. Montclair hosts Kean University at the same time.