New Jersey City University Athletics

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ARCHIVED AUDIO BROADCAST (1 of 3)
ARCHIVED AUDIO BROADCAST (2 of 3)
ARCHIVED AUDIO BROADCAST (3 of 3)
AUDIO HIGHLIGHT: JOSH LOPEZ floater makes it 70-66
AUDIO HIGHLIGHT: Phil Barnes jam ties it 70-70
AUDIO HIGHLIGHT: TOM MCDERMOTT's buzzer beater is waved off
AUDIO HIGHLIGHT: JOSH LOPEZ hit a three in double overtime for an 82-78 lead

NEWARK, NJ…Junior point guard JOSH LOPEZ (Jersey City, NJ/St. Mary's (Jersey City)) scored a career-high 36 points—the most by a New Jersey City University point guard since 1964—and the Gothic Knights shot above .500 for the second consecutive game, holding off Rutgers-Newark in double overtime, 92-88, to win a wild and eventful New Jersey Athletic Conference North Division game on Wednesday night at The Golden Dome.

Lopez, in his first year as a starting point guard, after two years as a key reserve, had the highest scoring output by an NJCU 1-guard since retired coaching legend CHARLES BROWN netted 40 points as a senior player against Montclair State University on December 15, 1964. Tied for the 10^th known highest scoring total in the 76-year history of the program, it was the first time any NJCU player has exceeded 35 in a game since Samar Battle had 37 at Montclair on February 21, 2004.

With the win, NJCU won its second straight game to improve to 8-10 and 3-5 in the NJAC, while keeping its faint playoff hopes alive. The loss for Newark saw its record drop to 12-8 (5-3 NJAC).

NJCU, which was playing the eighth game in school history that reached at least double overtime, is now 3-4 in games that needed two extra sessions. The Knights lead the all-time series with the Scarlet Raiders, 57-7.

The game needed overtime after an attempted buzzer-beating jumper in the paint by sophomore power forward TOM McDERMOTT (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) was waved off by the referees at the end of regulation, and a slow-motion video replay after the contest had ended confirmed the call was correct.

One game after dishing a career-best 11 assists, Lopez shot 10-of-17 overall, 6-of-9 from three-point range and 10-of-14 from the line in 44 minutes of action. His 36 points marked the third time he has scored 20 in a game in his career and easily surpassed his previous high of 24 against The College of New Jersey on January 10, 2009. Lopez tallied 24 of the points in regulation. The 36 points also matched the highest scoring total against an NJAC team this season (Jay Frank of TCNJ had 36 against Richard Stockton College on January 7) and the second best mark in the conference in any game this year.

Freshman small forward RASHAWN SMALLS (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) added 17 points in 18 minutes, and five rebounds, connecting on 7-of-9 shots before fouling out. Freshman power forward FARRAKHAN WELLS (Newark, NJ/Westside) added 13 points (4-10 FG), four assists and two blocks in 40 minutes while senior guard KYLE INGRAM (Sicklerville, NJ/Winslow Township) did a little of everything, finishing with seven points, six assists and six rebounds in 42 minutes. McDermott had seven points and five boards off the bench before fouling out.

Rutgers received a brilliant first half effort from junior guard James Johnson (Summit, NJ/Summit) who scored 22 points in 13 minutes in the first half, before finishing with a team-high 25. He was a perfect 8-of-8 from the field, 4-of-4 from three-point range and 2-of-2 at the line in the first half before subbing out with 5:50 left, and that's what finally cooled him off. He only attempted one shot the remainder of the night, finishing 8-of-9 from the field with 25 points in 24 minutes before fouling out.

Newark junior forward Phil Barnes (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) had just three points at halftime, but responded with 15 in the second half to help force overtime, before finishing with 24 points (10-of-15 FG) and a game-high nine rebounds. Junior guard Tim Smith (Mullica Hill, NJ/Camden Catholic) had 17 points, six rebounds and four assists in 43 minutes while senior forward David Cherry (Linden, NJ/Roselle Catholic) added 10 points and seven rebounds.

NJCU shot 60.7 percent in the first half (17-28), including 8-of-12 from three-point range (.667), and was equally as hot in the second half, making 9-of-18 shots. For the game, NJCU shot a season-high .544 (31-57) and 10-of-20 from three-point distance (.500). Newark shot .500 in the first half (14-28) but was limited to .431 for the game (28-65), including just 4-of-12 from the floor in the two overtimes.

In a game with seven ties and six lead changes, NJCU committed 17 turnovers but actually capitalized on fewer giveaways by Newark. NJCU used the Raiders' 14 turnovers to generate a 24-13 advantage in points off miscues. Newark stayed in the game with its free throw shooting, making 75.8 percent from the line (25-33), versus just 20-of-37 by NJCU (.541).

In the first half, NJCU jumped out to a 7-2 lead on consecutive threes by Ingram and Wells, and eventually saw the lead swell to 13 with 13:29 left on a Smalls steal and slam that made it 22-9.

A 16-0 run sparked by Johnson allowed Newark to not only rally, but even gain a 28-24 lead as he hit a three with 9:40 left. Johnson scored 12 of the 16 points during the spurt, including a pair of triples.

Lopez ended the bleeding with back-to-back threes in a span of 30 seconds and added a layup, scoring eight straight points for NJCU. Still, another three by Johnson made it 36-32 with 6:48 left in the half. R-N gained its largest lead with 5:50 left, 39-34, and Johnson subbed out.

NJCU made Newark regret resting him, finishing the first period on a 12-0 run of its own. Consecutive baskets by Wells, a Lopez three with 2:38 left and another three by freshman center TAQUAN ABDULLAH (Kenilworth, NJ/David Brearley) gave NJCU a 44-39 edge and an offensive rebound and layup by sophomore center RASHAD DAVIS (Newark, NJ/Amherst (MA)) put the Knights ahead at the half by seven, 46-39.

The NJCU run extended to 18-0 as Smalls scored three field goals in the first 1:29 of the second half for a 52-39 lead.

Newark slowly chipped away at the deficit and when freshman guard Greg Moore (Jersey City, NJ/Bayonne) hit a three with 7:56 left, the Raiders had reeled off a 22-7 streak and retaken a two-point lead, 61-59. Barnes scored nine consecutive points for the Raiders during the middle of the string, which lasted for 10:35.

Lopez put NJCU back in front with another three before a layup by Barnes at 6:02 made it 63-62. Smalls received a technical foul with 5:37 left and fouled out. With its top scorer and rebounder out of the lineup, McDermott tied it with a free throw at 4:18 and Wells added a go-ahead layup with 3:01 left. Barnes put Newark ahead with two free throws at 2:07 before Lopez returned the favor with two foul shots at 1:49 for a 67-65 edge. With 1:12 left Lopez and the shot clock winding down, Lopez sailed through the air to the left of the lane, drew a foul and threw up a floater that fell through, before sinking a free throw to convert a three-point play and make it 70-66 with 1:12 left.

Smith tied it with 42 seconds left before missing a potential go-ahead three with 16 seconds remaining after NJCU turned it over. Barnes grabbed the rebound as it came off the rim and jammed it down in one motion to tie the game at 70-70 with less than 13 seconds left. McDermott's turn around shot at the buzzer off a deflected pass went in, but was nearly a tenth of second too late.

On four occasions, NJCU went ahead by two points in the first overtime, including a jumper by Lopez with 55 seconds left. But Newark sophomore forward Kenny Widgeon (Plainfield, NJ/The Hotchkiss School) hit a pair of free throws to tie it with 47 seconds left. NJCU missed two threes in the final 25 seconds with a chance to win it on their final possession and the game headed to double overtime knotted at 78-78.

Leading by one, NJCU finally opened some separation with 4:02 left in the second OT when Lopez drilled a three from the left wing and Wells made two freebies with 3:15 left. Barnes and Abdullah exchanged layups. Two foul shots by Smith (0:28) made it a three-point game and his layup with three seconds left cut it to two, 89-87, before Lopez iced the game with three free throws.

NJCU returns to action on Saturday, January 31 at 3 p.m. when it visits Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ.