New Jersey City University Athletics

BOX SCORE
GAME NOTES/PROGRAM

JERSEY CITY, NJ…New Jersey City University's three-game winning streak ended as a footnote in history. The Gothic Knights scored just 18 points in the second half, and had 37 of their 39 points amassed by three players, as NJCU was held below the 40-point threshold for the first time in 55 years, and Kean University prevailed 48-39, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game on Saturday at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on Charlie Brown Court.

It was the lowest scoring output by an NJCU team since losing 55-36 to Newark College of Engineering (now New Jersey Institute of Technology) in January 1954. Since then, NJCU had played 1,405 games. The shot clock was first utilized in NCAA basketball in 1985.

NJCU, which had won the last seven meetings between the schools, falls back below .500 at 6-7 and 2-3 in the league in the only meeting of the year between the schools. Kean improves to 9-8 overall and 3-3 in the NJAC. It was Kean's first win in Jersey City since November 26, 2002 (60-59).

In another outstanding defensive effort, the Cougars have now held NJAC opponents to fewer than 40 points in consecutive games, having limited Rutgers University-Camden to 37 in a two-point win on January 14.

NJCU wasted another monster double-double from freshman small forward RASHAWN SMALLS (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson)—his third double-double in a row and his fifth of the year. He scored 19 points (8-19 FG) and a career-high 17 rebounds in 38 minutes. Smalls now has 55 points and 47 rebounds in three games this week. He shot 3-of-3 from three-point range and had two dunks in the loss.

Smalls had nearly half of NJCU's total points and rebounds. Kean out-rebounded NJCU, 60-36, including 20-7 on the offensive glass, where the Cougars had 16 second-chance points. Kean accomplished this despite being outsized and not blocking a shot.

Senior guard KYLE INGRAM (Sicklerville, NJ/Winslow Township) finished with 11 points (4-13 FG, 3-9 3FG) while junior point guard JOSH LOPEZ (Jersey City, NJ/St. Mary's (Jersey City)) had seven points (2-9 FG, 1-7 3FG) and three steals before fouling out.

Smalls, Ingram and Lopez—NJCU's top three scorers this season—accounted for 37 of NJCU's 39 points and its other two starters were limited to just one free throw each. Kean's bench outscored NJCU's reserves, 19-0. Outside of Smalls, Ingram and Lopez, the rest of the team shot 0-for-17.

Kean didn't need much scoring and two players scored 10 each to lead the Cougars. Junior forward Brian Lytle (Union, NJ/St. Mark's (MA)) and sophomore guard Dean Hughes (Pemberton Township, NJ/Pemberton Twp.) each had 10 points and six rebounds while sophomore forward Akinwande Oshodi (Florence, NJ/Florence) collected nine points and eight rebounds. Freshman guard Michael Oglesby (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) had a team high 11 rebounds while senior guard Yasien Beatty (Jersey City, NJ/St. Mary) had five steals.

In a game where the first points weren't logged until the 15:48 mark of the first half, and NJCU's first field goal came on a Smalls dunk with 15:22, both schools shot less than 30 percent. Kean was at 29.3 percent, shooting 17-of-58. NJCU shot just 24.1 percent (14-58)—its lowest percentage since shooting .242 (16-66) at Rutgers-Newark on December 7, 2002.

A major difference in the outcome of the game was the dramatic turnaround in free throw shooting that Kean made in the second period. The Cougars shot a dismal 7.1 percent (1-14) from the line in the first half before a different team came out in the second half, shooting 78.6 percent from the stripe (11-14).

NJCU, which led for most of the first half, with a margin of as many as four, held a 21-19 cushion at the intermission. Smalls had 11 points and nine rebounds in the first half.

After Kean tied it at 21-21 on an Oshodi tip in and took the lead on a Lytle jumper, Ingram put NJCU back in front with a three-pointer, 24-23. But Hughes converted two free throws at 15:34 of the second half and Oglesby hit a three at 14:27 for a 28-24 edge. Smalls hit a three to cut the deficit to two, 32-30, with 12:28 left before Kean scored the next seven points for a 39-30 cushion with 9:30 left. Lytle had a pair of three throws before a jumper by senior forward Sean Carter (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Boro) and an Oshodi layup extended the lead.

NJCU, which did hit seven threes in the loss, received another one from Smalls with 8:24 left but couldn't draw closer than five points in the final 10 minutes of the game. NJCU's last field goal came with 4:00 left on an Ingram three and the Knights missed their final seven shots of the game.

NJCU will seek to bounce back when it faces Trinity College (CT) for the first time in history in a non-conference game on Monday, January 19, at 7:30 p.m. in Hartford, CT. Kean travels to the College of Staten Island at 1 p.m. that day.