New Jersey City University Athletics

 

CAMDEN, NJ…New Jersey City University junior All-America guard DANA JOHN (Hillside, NJ/Pocono Mountain East (Pa.)) scored 27 points for the second consecutive game, and the Gothic Knights guaranteed their 33^rd consecutive winning season since 1975, by defeating Rutgers University-Camden, 70-55, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference inter-divisional game on Saturday.

 

NJCU (14-8, 6-4 NJAC) remains tied for second place in the division by snapping a two-game losing streak while defeating Camden (4-18, 1-9 NJAC) for the 38^th time in the last 39 meetings in an all-time series NJCU leads 48-4.

 

NJCU locks up its 33^rd consecutive winning season—the second longest streak, active and overall, in Division III history. Only Wittenberg University (OH)’s string of 39 straight years is longer.

 

John scored 16 of his 27 in the first half, while helping stake NJCU to a 40-23 lead at the break. He set a career-high by knocking down 10 field goals, shooting 10-of-14 overall, 3-of-6 from three-point range and 4-of-5 from the line with three steals in 33 minutes. His previous best was eight field goals at Rowan University on January 27, 2007.

 

Now with 1,226 career points, John is just four points behind Hall-of-Famer John Celentano (1,230, 1971-74) for 15^th place on the all-time list. NJCU is now 19-5 all-time when John scores 20 in a game, including 7-3 this year. He also drilled the 198^th three of his career.

 

Junior guard KEVIN TUCKER (Jersey City, NJ/Ferris) had 13 points, including 3-of-7 three-point KEVIN TUCKER" src="/images/mbasket/2008/2/9/01-28-08%20Kevin%20Tucker%208.jpg" width=150 align=left border=0>field goals and five steals, while senior center MARQUES HILL (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) shot 4-of-9, finishing with 10 points and six rebounds. John, Tucker and Hill accounted for 50 of NJCU’s 70 points.

 

Camden received 15 points (6-11 FG) from junior guard Bill Banks (Berlin NJ/Eastern Regional) and 13 points from senior guard/forward Tarell Robinson (Irvington, NJ/St. Benedict’s Prep), who shot 6-of-8. Freshman center Jared Meredith (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Burlington County Tech) grabbed a game and career-high 10 rebounds.

 

Up 5-4 early, NJCU seized control in the first nine minutes of the game, using a 13-3 spurt to move in front by double figures, 18-7, on a John jumper at 12:13. He scored six of the 13 points that put the Knights in front by 11 and NJCU led by double figures for all but two possessions the remainder of the game. John shot 7-for-9 from the floor and 2-for-3 from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes as NJCU opened up a 17-point halftime lead. NJCU led by 17, 30-13, with 6:00 left in the period on a Hill basket.

 

NJCU continued to lead by 16 in the second half, 48-32 with 14:37 left. Camden cut the gap to nine, 49-40, off a Banks foul shot with 11:50 left. But John came right back to bury a three-pointer, and the Gothic Knights led by double digits the rest of the way. A three and two foul shots by Tucker gave NJCU a 19-point lead (66-47, 3:52) and a John three-point play with 2:20 remaining gave NJCU its largest lead of the contest, a 69-49 margin.

 

NJCU, which remains tied with Ramapo College and Montclair State University for second in the division—one game ahead of Rutgers-Newark—returns to action on Wednesday, February 13 at 7:30 p.m. when it visits Rutgers-Newark at the Golden Dome in a critical NJAC North Division game.