BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM
NEWARK, NJ (www.NJCUGothicKnights.com)...Rutgers-Newark built a 26-18 halftime lead and swept a season-series from New Jersey City University for the first time as the Scarlet Raiders downed the Gothic Knights, 57-39, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference North Division game on Saturday night at The Golden Dome.
Newark (17-6, 7-4 NJAC) clinches its fifth NJAC Tournament berth in six years and defeats NJCU (11-10, 4-6 NJAC) for the third consecutive meeting in a series the Knights have dominated historically, leading 57-10.
While the Knights are still alive in the NJAC Tournament race, NJCU must win its final three conference games against Montclair State University (February 10), Ramapo College (February 13) and William Paterson University (February 17), and need the Roadrunners to then lose to Rutgers-Newark on February 17.
Senior guard James Johnson (Summit, NJ/Summit), who has played some of the best games of his career against NJCU, was the only player for either school to reach double figures in scoring, notching a career-best 29 points, including 17 in the second half. He shot 9-of-16 overall, 4-of-7 from three-point range and 7-of-7 from the line in 33 total minutes of action. In the last four meetings between the schools he has scored 86 points (21.5 per contest), including 13 in the first meeting between the schools on January 6, won by the Raiders, 77-61.
In a matchup of the No. 2 and No. 3 ranked scoring defenses in the conference—Newark allowing 59.7 points per game and NJCU 62.1 per game—neither offense shot well. The Raiders made 32.1 percent of its shots (17-53) and NJCU converted 13-of-52 (.250) and 1-of-13 from three-point distance (.077). The 39 point total represents just the fourth time since January 1954 that an NJCU team has not reached the 40-point threshold in a contest.
But the Raiders were nearly perfect from the line, sinking 18-of-19 foul shots, or 94.7 percent. NJCU was 12-of-23 (.522) from the stripe.
For NJCU, freshman power forward ISAIAH JOHNSON (East Orange, NJ/East Orange Campus), a three-time NJAC Rookie of the Week, had a game-best nine rebounds (seven defensive) and seven points. Freshman small forward WALIK ALBRIGHT (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) had a team-high eight points, adding two assists and two steals.
Newark also received eight rebounds (six defensive) and seven points from senior forward Phil Barnes (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) along with eight defensive rebounds from sophomore forward Ralph Jones (West Orange, NJ/Seton Hall Prep).
In the first half, after NJCU opening the scoring, the Raiders scored 21 of the next 26 points to claim a 21-7 lead with 7:37 to go, with Johnson accounting for nine points. NJCU whittled the margin to six, 26-20, with 56 seconds left in the half, on a fast-break jumper by sophomore center TAQUAN ABDULLAH (Kenilworth, NJ/David Brearley) as the Knights countered by scoring 13 of 18 points. The Raiders led by eight at halftime, 26-18.
A fast-break dunk by Abdullah again cut the deficit to six, 26-20, early in the second half. But the Raiders, who received 17 of their 31 second half points from Johnson, and outscored the Knights in the period, 31-21, began to pull away behind the game's top scorer. He put the margin at double figures with a three-point play with 12:31 remaining and hit a three with 6:16 left that gave the hosts a 22-point, 49-27 cushion before prevailing by 18.
NJCU next plays on Monday, February 8 at 7 p.m. when it hosts Berkeley College in a non-conference game at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on “Coach Charlie Brown Court.”
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
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Team Stat Comparison
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NJCU
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RUTGERS-NEWARK
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Score
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39
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57
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Half-Time Score
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18
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26
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Field Goal Percentage
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.250 (13-52)
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.321 (17-53)
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Three-Point Percentage
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.077 (1-13)
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.333 (5-15)
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Free Throw Percentage
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.522 (12-23)
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.947 (18-19)
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Rebounds (O-D-T)
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12-25-37
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9-31-40
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Assists
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8
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8
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Turnovers
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14
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16
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Blocks
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5
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5
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Steals
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6
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6
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Fouls
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17
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20
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Largest Lead
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2
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22
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Points in the Paint
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14
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24
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Points off Turnovers
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7
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12
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Second Change Points
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6
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8
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Fast Break Points
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8
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6
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Bench Points
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12
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13
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