New Jersey City University Athletics

BOX SCORE

AUDIO: ARCHIVED GAME BROADCAST

DANA JOHN POST-GAME INTERVIEW

AUDIO HIGHLIGHT: MARQUES HILL's two-handed jam, 23-22

AUDIO HIGHLIGHT: Ramapo Three and 45-33 lead

AUDIO HIGHLIGHT: AARON DESIR Three, 47-42

AUDIO HIGHLIGHT: MARQUES HILL Basket Ties it, 49-49

AUDIO HIGHLIGHT: KEVIN TUCKER Jumper Ties it, 51-51

AUDIO HIGHLIGHT: DANA JOHN's Go-Ahead Three, 55-52

AUDIO HIGHLIGHT: DANA JOHN Free Throw Makes it 63-55

AUDIO HIGHLIGHT: Ramapo Cuts it to 63-62 on Tim Wesley Three

AUDIO HIGHLIGHT: SHY MARTINEZ Drains Two Foul Shots to Ice It

 

MAHWAH, NJ…Junior All-America guard DANA JOHN (Hillside, NJ/Pocono Mountain East (Pa.)) moved into 19th place in school history by scoring a game-high 23 points, including 11-of-12 from the line, and senior center MARQUES HILL (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) nearly had a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, as New Jersey City University rallied from a 12-point second half deficit against a conference opponent for the second time this season, defeating Ramapo College, 66-62, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference North Division game, Wednesday at the Bill Bradley Center.

 

In a rematch of the 2007 NJAC championship game won by Ramapo, NJCU moves into first place in the North Division at 9-4 overall and 2-0 NJAC, winning for the fifth time in six games. RCNJ falls to 6-6 and 1-1. It was the 71^st meeting between the schools in a series NJCU leads 57-14. The Gothic Knights have won the last three regular season meetings between the clubs.

 

John’s three-pointer from the right wing with 3:29 left gave NJCU its first lead since the first half (55-52) and the Knights did not trail again. RCNJ had led by 12, 45-33, with 12:23 left, before NJCU unleashed a 24-7 run to take control.

 

John finished with 23 points on 5-of-14 shooting and was 11-of-12 from the line with six rebounds and six steals in 33 minutes. His 11 free throws and six steals both matched career highs, last accomplished in NJCU’s only other NJAC game this season against Rowan University on December 1.

 

John, who extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one three-pointer to 34, scored at least 20 for the eighth time in 13 games this year and the 22nd time in his career. NJCU is 18-4 all-time and 6-2 this season when he scores 20+.

 

John now has 1,096 points in 70 career games, good for 19^th in school history. He passed Hall of Famer Dwayne West (1982-86, 1,075 points)—the older brother of New Orleans Hornets’ star David West—and former All-American Danel Allen (1995-98, 1,091 points) on the all-time list.

 

Hill finished shooting 4-of-8 for his 11 points and nine boards. Freshman forward TOM McDERMOTT (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) had a strong defensive game for the Knights, finishing with six points (3-5 FG), three rebounds and two steals in 15 minutes, while junior guard KEVIN TUCKER (Jersey City, NJ/Ferris), playing in his first game of the season, contributed six points.

 

RCNJ received a game-high 15 rebounds, nine points (4-9 FG) and three steals from senior forward Assad Shaakir (Newark, NJ/St. Patrick’s). Senior center Omar Alston (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) had 14 points (6-12 FG) and six rebounds and junior guard Tim Wesley (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) added 12 points. Junior point guard Desmond Sanders (Newark, NJ/St. Patrick’s) finished with eight points and five assists.

 

RCNJ committed 30 turnovers in the game and lost despite out-rebounding NJCU, 49-38, and outshooting the Knights from the field, .393 (24-61) to .333 (20-60). After making just 7-of-32 in the first period (.219), NJCU answered by converting 13-of-28 (.464) in the second half, outscoring the Roadrunners in the second session, 44-34.

 

With NJCU struggling from the field in the first half, RCNJ gained a 12-point lead in the latter stages of the period as Sanders hit a three (6:33) and Alston added a jumper (5:23) for a 21-9 margin. Another Alston bucket made it 23-11 with 4:36 left in the half.

 

NJCU outscored RCNJ 11-0 over the next 2:55 to shave the deficit to one, 23-22, with 1:41 left in the half, following a monster dunk by Hill. During the spurt, John had seven points and assisted on two other baskets. A jumper by Alston and a three by freshman guard Ahmad Hassan (Edgewater, NJ/Leonia) allowed RCNJ to lead 28-22 at the break.

               

An Alston jumper minutes into the second half made it a nine-point game, before a Tucker three and John jumper brought NJCU within four, 35-31. RCNJ made another run and again pulled in front by 12, 45-33 with 12:23 remaining, off a 10-2 streak capped by a Hassan three, as five different Ramapo players scored.

               

As NJCU did against Rowan in December, the Knights slowly chipped away at the 12-point deficit using a strong, pressure defense and good ball distribution. A three by senior guard AARON DESIR (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) cut it to 47-42. Free throws by John and Hill made it a two-point game, before Hill tied it with a jumper with 6:28 left. Shaakir gave RCNJ back the lead—one of five lead changes in the contest—before Tucker tied it again (5:16). John evened the game with a free throw with 4:40 remaining, before his triple with 3:29 left put the Knights in front.

               

McDermott increased the lead to 57-52 on a lay-up off a feed from Hill and two John foul shots made it 59-53 with 2:23 left. After an Alston basket with 1:56 left, Hill hit a jumper off a Tucker feed with 1:30 remaining and two more John foul shots extended the advantage to 63-55 with 1:07 on the clock.

 

A three-point play by Shaakir, another RCNJ free throw, and a Wesley three from the left wing shaved NJCU’s lead to 63-62 with 30 seconds remaining. But senior point guard SHY MARTINEZ (Union City, NJ/Union Hill)—who is shooting 90.9 percent from the line this season (20-22)—made two free throws to extend his streak to 12 straight and 19 of 20, pushing the lead to 65-62 with 22 seconds left. Sophomore guard JOSH LOPEZ (Jersey City, NJ/St. Mary’s (Jersey City)) capped it with a free throw in the final moments.

 

NJCU returns to action on Saturday, January 12 at 3 p.m. when it travels to Kean University in an NJAC inter-divisional game in Union, NJ.