BOX SCORE
WAYNE, NJ (www.NJCUGothicKnights.com)...Senior guard JOSH LOPEZ (Jersey City, NJ/St. Mary's (Jersey City)) scored all 17 of his team-high 17 points in the second half but #8 ranked William Paterson University defeated New Jersey City University, 66-55, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference North Division contest and the regular season finale for both squads on Wednesday night at the Rec Center.
NJCU finishes the regular season at 13-12 overall and 5-8 in the NJAC, and will wait until Monday, March 1 to learn if it will be selected to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Metro tournament. If the Knights are selected, it will be the club's 27th post-season appearance in 28 years. If not selected, the Knights will end the year with a winning record for the 34th time in the last 35 years.
WPU, ranked No. 8 nationally by D3hoops.com, improves to 23-2 overall and 12-1 in the NJAC and will be the No. 1 overall seed in the NJAC Tournament. NJCU leads the all-time series, 73-61, since 1931-32, but the Pioneers have won the last six meetings.
The Pioneers entered the game ranked #1 in Division III in scoring defense at 53.8 points per game and second in field goal percentage defense at .365, but NJCU was able to outshoot the Pioneers, making 41.7 percent of its shots (20-48), including 9-of-23 (.391) from three-point distance. WPU shot 23-of-57 overall (.404) and made eight threes (8-24, .333) and 12-of-15 from the line (.800).
Lopez, who missed his only shot in the first half, finished with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting and 5-of-9 three-point accuracy, adding three assists while leading NJCU in scoring for the 13th time this year. He had been held scoreless in the first meeting of the year against WPU.
Also for NJCU, junior guard ANTOINE ROGERS (Trenton, NJ/Ewing) tallied nine points on 3-of-6 shooting (2-4 3FG) and freshman small forward WALIK ALBRIGHT (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) had eight points.
Three players reached double figures for WPU. Senior guard Tim Lucas (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) led all players with 20 points (5-9 FG, 2-4 3FG), making 8-of-8 from the line, while adding game highs of eight assists and five steals, and chipped in six defensive rebounds.
Senior Bobby Dunn (Garwood, NJ/Arthur L. Johnson Regional) added 18 points (8-13 FG, 2-5 3FG) and three assists. Junior Gabriel Paul (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) contributed a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds on 5-of-11 shooting.
After scoring 12 of the game's first 15 points, William Paterson saw its lead evaporate thanks to a 14-0 Gothic Knight spurt that gave New Jersey City a 17-12 advantage with 8:31 on the clock. Rogers scored eight points during the spurt, including a pair of three-pointers, to help give NJCU its first lead of the night.
But the Pioneers responded by concluding the half on a 15-2 run to gain a 27-19 halftime lead. After freshman power forward #TERRENCE DOCTOR# (Jersey City, NJ/University Academy) gave NJCU its last lead, 19-18, 5:12 prior to the half, the Pioneers received back-to-back threes by Lucas and Dunn in 24 seconds for a 24-19 lead with 4:36 to go.
Senior shooting guard KYLE INGRAM (Sicklerville, NJ/Winslow Township) hit a three five minutes into the second half—29 seconds after Albright drained a triple—and Albright scored a layup off a feed from Ingram with 14:23 remaining to shave the deficit to two, 36-34.
But after a WPU timeout, the hosts assembled a 12-0 run to gain a 48-34, 14-point margin with 10:55 remaining. Lucas had a trey and two assists during the spurt. WPU led by double figures the remainder of the game with a high of 16 points.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
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Team Stat Comparison
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NJCU
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WPU
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Score
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55
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66
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Half-Time Score
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19
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27
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Field Goal Percentage
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.417 (20-48)
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.404 (23-57)
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Three-Point Percentage
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.391 (9-23)
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.333 (8-24)
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Free Throw Percentage
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.545 (6-11)
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.800 (12-15)
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Rebounds (O-D-T)
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6-25-31
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10-26-36
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Assists
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10
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15
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Turnovers
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18
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11
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Blocks
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1
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2
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Steals
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6
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9
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Fouls
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18
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15
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Largest Lead
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5
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16
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Points in the Paint
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14
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22
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Points off Turnovers
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5
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19
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Second Change Points
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4
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7
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Fast Break Points
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3
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10
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Bench Points
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21
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6
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