SETTING THE SCENE: For the third time in 11 days, New Jersey City University (18-9, 8-5 NJAC) meets Montclair State University (20-7, 8-5 NJAC), with the 2011 New Jersey Athletic Conference championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament on the line. NJCU, winners of an unprecedented 11 conference championships, will seek their first since the 2003-04 season. It is NJCU's first appearance in the conference finals since the 2006-07 season, when the Gothic Knights fell at home to Ramapo College in overtime. That was NJCU's last appearance in the NJAC Tournament prior to this season. NJCU is 6-4 all-time in NJAC Finals since the event began in 1977-78. NJCU will host an NJAC championship game for the eighth time in its history. NJCU is 5-2 all-time in home NJAC championship contests.
SITE/TIME: Friday, February 25, 2011 at 7 p.m. at NJCU's John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center ('Coach Charlie Brown Court'). Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for children. NJCU students with a valid ID will be admitted for free, courtesy of the Student Government Organization.
THE SERIES: MSU leads the all-time series, which dates to 1932-33, 87-65. The two schools split the 2010-11 season series, playing a regular season-ending home-and-home series three days apart that was necessitated by snow postponements. On February 14, NJCU routed Montclair in Jersey City, 82-62, and with the win, clinched the NJAC North No. 2 seed. Two days later, on February 16, the schools met in a rematch in Montclair, NJ and the Red Hawks, needing a win to qualify for the NJAC Tournament, snapped NJCU's nine-game winning streak with a 62-53 result, to gain the No. 3 seed in the NJAC North.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: NJCU earned a berth in the NJAC championship game with a 75-61 road win over NJAC North No. 1 seed in the semifinals on Tuesday, February 22. In the quarterfinals on February 19 in Jersey City, NJ, the Knights rallied from seven points down with 2:10 to play for a 75-72 victory over Rowan University.
Montclair posted a 67-64 road upset of NJAC North Division champion and #25 ranked Ramapo College in the semifinals in Mahwah, NJ. In the quarterfinals on February 19 in Pomona, NJ, the Red Hawks edged Richard Stockton College, the NJAC South No. 2 seed, 61-60.
RANKINGS: NJCU received three points this week in the D3hoops.com Top 25 national poll, which would equate to a No. 39 national ranking.
WHAT's NEXT?: The NJAC Tournament first round begins on Thursday, March 3. The bracket will be announced on Monday, February 28 at 1 p.m. on www.NCAA.com.
NJCU's NJAC HISTORY:NJCU has won a conference record 11 championships but none since 2004. The Knights are making their 25th appearance all-time in the NJAC Tournament with a record of 18-18 (.500) (36 games). NJCU is 15-9 all-time in home NJAC Tournament games (.625).
MONTCLAIR's NJAC HISTORY:The Red Hawks have won nine NJAC championships, with their last coming in 2003—and 86-84 double-overtime win against Ramapo College. This is Montclair's first trip to the NJAC final since that 2003 contest and its seventh overall.
WE'VE DONE THIS BEFORE:NJCU and Montclair have met once previously in the NJAC finals, but both schools had different names. On February 24, 1995 in Jersey City, NJ, the then-Jersey City State College Gothic Knights defeated then-Montclair State College, 67-50.
WE'VE DONE THIS BEFORE, BUT IN OTHER SPORTS:Today's appearance in the NJAC Championship game marks the first time since November 3, 2007 that the Gothic Knights have qualified for the NJAC Finals in any conference-affiliated sport. On that day, NJCU actually hosted two conference finals as the regular season champion in both men's soccer and women's volleyball. The opponent that day—Montclair State. The Red Hawks won the soccer game, 1-0, and the volleyball final, 3-1.
THE COMPARISON:
|
NJAC Team Per Game Stat Comparison: NJCU vs. Montclair State
Thru February 24, 2011
|
|
|
New Jersey City
|
Montclair State
|
|
STATISTIC
|
RANK (of 10)
|
TOTAL
|
RANK (of 10)
|
TOTAL
|
|
Scoring Offense:
|
3rd
|
75.1
|
5th
|
71.2
|
|
Scoring Defense:
|
3rd
|
62.0
|
4th
|
64.6
|
|
Scoring Margin:
|
1st
|
+13.1
|
4th
|
+6.6
|
|
Free Throw Percentage:
|
1st
|
.701
|
9th
|
.652
|
|
Field Goal Percentage:
|
6th
|
.433
|
1st
|
.469
|
|
Field Goal Percentage Defense:
|
1st
|
.393
|
5th
|
.413
|
|
Three-Point Field Goal Percentage:
|
6th
|
.318
|
9th
|
.295
|
|
Three-Point Field Goal Percentage Defense:
|
5th
|
.317
|
8th
|
.341
|
|
Rebounding Offense:
|
3rd
|
38.6
|
2nd
|
38.7
|
|
Rebounding Defense:
|
7th
|
35.2
|
2nd
|
31.5
|
|
Rebounding Margin:
|
3rd
|
+3.4
|
1st
|
+7.2
|
|
Blocked Shots:
|
1st
|
4.4
|
3rd
|
3.3
|
|
Assists:
|
3rd
|
14.07
|
2nd
|
14.15
|
|
Steals:
|
1st
|
12.1
|
9th
|
7.0
|
|
Turnover Margin:
|
1st
|
+6.07
|
7th
|
+0.04
|
|
Assist/Turnover Ratio:
|
1st
|
0.878
|
2nd
|
0.858
|
|
Offensive Rebounds:
|
2nd
|
14.0
|
5th
|
13.0
|
|
Defensive Rebounds:
|
5th
|
24.7
|
4th
|
25.7
|
|
Defensive Rebound Percentage:
|
7th
|
.671
|
1st
|
.717
|
|
Offensive Rebound Percentage:
|
4th
|
.377
|
3rd
|
.379
|
|
Three-Pointers Field Goals Made/Game:
|
5th
|
5.2
|
10th
|
3.6
|
|
NJCU and MONTCLAIR STATE MEN”S BASKETBALL PLAYERS IN THE NJAC TOP 10
Thru February 24, 2011
|
|
STATISTIC
|
NJCU PLAYER
|
RANK
|
TOTAL
|
MSU PLAYER
|
RANK
|
TOTAL
|
|
Scoring:
|
None
|
|
|
Andrew August
Rodney Freeney
|
5th
7th
|
16.3
14.1
|
|
Rebounding:
|
None
|
|
|
Andrew August
Tyrone Prewitt
|
5th
7th
|
7.5
6.9
|
|
Field Goal Percentage:
|
|
4th
|
.544
|
Tyrone Prewitt
Andrew August
|
2nd
3rd
|
.591
.588
|
|
Assists:
|
Da'Shon Barrino
|
7th
10th
|
3.0
2.5
|
A.J. Larkin
|
6th
|
3.2
|
|
Free Throw Percentage:
|
Da'Shon Barrino
|
1st
2nd
7th
|
.854
.848
.772
|
A.J. Larkin
|
10th
|
.747
|
|
Steals:
|
Da'Shon Barrino
|
1st
8th
|
2.7
1.8
|
None
|
|
|
|
Three-Point Percentage:
|
|
10th
|
.368
|
None
|
|
|
|
Three Point Field Goals Made:
|
|
10th
|
1.4
|
None
|
|
|
|
Blocked Shots:
|
|
8th
10th
|
0.731
0.640
|
Tyrone Prewitt
Andrew August
|
2nd
9th
|
1.22
0.704
|
|
Assist/Turnover Ratio:
|
Da'Shon Barrino
|
2nd
5th
|
1.4
1.3
|
A.J. Larkin
|
9th
|
1.1
|
|
Offensive Rebounds:
|
|
8th
10th
|
2.2
2.1
|
Andrew August
Tyrone Prewitt
|
2nd (tie)
2nd (tie)
|
2.4
2.4
|
|
Defensive Rebounds:
|
None
|
|
|
Andrew August
Tyrone Prewitt
|
5th
8th
|
5.1
4.4
|
|
Minutes Played:
|
None
|
|
|
Rodney Freeney
A.J. Larkin
Andrew August
|
6th
8th
10th
|
32.3
32.1
31.3
|
|
|
|
|
|
NJCU vs. MONTCLAIR, NJAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Tonight will mark only the fourth time NJCU and Montclair have ever met in the NJAC Tournament and the first meeting in 16 years. NJCU is 2-1 against the Red Hawks in the NJACs, winning in 1983 and 1995, and the Knights are 2-0 at home in the tournament against MSU. Montclair's lone win came exactly 29 years ago tonight, a four-point win on February 25, 1982.
|
NJCU ALL-TIME IN THE NEW JERSEY ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT (vs. MONTCLAIR)
|
|
DATE
|
RK
|
SITE
|
OPPONENT
|
LOCATION
|
W/L
|
NJCU
|
OPP.
|
RECORD (W-L)
|
MARGIN
|
|
2/25/1982
|
--
|
A
|
Montclair State College 2
|
Montclair, NJ
|
L
|
60
|
64
|
0
|
1
|
-4
|
|
2/23/1983
|
--
|
H
|
Montclair State College 2
|
Jersey City, NJ
|
W
|
77
|
72
|
1
|
1
|
5
|
|
2/24/1995
|
--
|
H
|
Montclair State College
|
Jersey City, NJ
|
W
|
67
|
50
|
2
|
1
|
17
|
NJAC CHAMPIONS BY SCHOOL: NJCU has won a record 11 NJAC championships, but seeks its first since 2004. Rowan has won 10 league crowns, but none since 1999.
|
NJAC CHAMPIONS BY SCHOOL
|
|
SCHOOL
|
# OF TITLES
|
YEARS
|
|
New Jersey City University
|
11
|
1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1995, 2004
|
|
Rowan University
|
10
|
1958, 1959, 1963, 1971 (tie), 1975, 1976, 1977, 1993, 1994, 1999
|
|
William Paterson University
|
10
|
1972, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2010
|
|
Montclair State University
|
9
|
1960, 1962, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971 (tie), 1981, 1982, 2003
|
|
Richard Stockton College
|
6
|
1987, 1988, 1996, 1997, 2008, 2009
|
|
Kean University
|
3
|
1966, 1978, 1991
|
|
The College of New Jersey
|
3
|
1967, 1989, 1998
|
|
Ramapo College
|
2
|
2005, 2007
|
|
Rutgers-Camden
|
0
|
|
|
Rutgers-Newark
|
0
|
|
ALL-NJAC AWARDS: The 2010-11 NJAC All-Conference team was announced on Tuesday and NJCU and Montclair State each had a pair of players earn All-NJAC honors. Junior center Andrew August (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) was named First-Team All-NJAC. He was a two-time NJAC Player of the Week selection in his first season as a member of the Red Hawks.
NJCU junior point guard KEITH WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter), in his first season at NJCU since transferring to the Knights after the 2007-08 season from Kean, earned Second-Team All-NJAC honors and senior shooting guard DA'SHON BARRINO (East Orange, NJ/Malcolm X. Shabazz) earned Honorable Mention All-NJAC honors.
Also for MSU, senior point guard Rodney Freeney (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) earned Honorable Mention All-NJAC honors. Freeney's older brother Rob Freeney played point guard for NJCU for two seasons (2004-06) and was a key member of the Knights' last NCAA qualifying team in March 2005.
LAST MEETINGS: Due to a postponement on January 26, NJCU and Montclair played a home-and-home series to conclude the regular season on February 14 in Jersey City and February 16 in Montclair.
FEBRUARY 14, 2011—NJCU 82, MONTCLAIR 62: NJCUcommitted a mere six turnovers, including just two in the first half and nine different players scored at least seven points as the Gothic Knights extended their winning streak to nine in a row—all by double figures—and clinched second place in the NJAC North Division.
The balanced NJCU scoring attack was on full display as the Knights' reserves outscored the Red Hawks bench, 48-19. Montclair only committed 13 turnovers but NJCU used its seven steals to generate a 12-1 advantage in points off giveaways. On a team that has changed its fortunes this season due to its unselfishness, NJCU was credited with an assist on 22 of 28 made field goals.
For NJCU, one of the top ranked teams in the nation in turnover margin, the six turnovers in this win were the fewest by the program since committing just five in a loss to then #1 ranked Williams College on January 3, 2004—NJCU's last NJAC championship season. Of the turnovers vs. Montclair, two came late in the second half on a lane violation and a shot clock violation with six seconds remaining when trying to run out the game clock.
Senior guard JAMES LIVINGSTON (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Central) led NJCU with 11 points (2-6 3FG), seven defensive rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes. Senior swingman ROB ROBINSON (Newark, NJ/Malcolm X. Shabazz) scored 10 points in 13 minutes, shooting 4-of-6 from the field and 2-for-2 from three-point distance. Junior center JOSH HOSANG (Hackensack, NJ/Palm Beach Central (Fla.)) grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds (nine defensive) with five points and three assists.
Also for NJCU, senior power forward TOM MCDERMOTT (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) provided eight rebounds, seven points and two steals. Sophomore guard ASHMERE WILSON (Newark, NJ/Weequahic) registered nine points (3-6 FG) with two assists and senior point guard Da'shon Barrino (East Orange, NJ/Malcolm X. Shabazz) collected eight points (2-4 3FG) with two assists. Sophomore point guard NAADIR WILLIAMS (Newark, NJ/Weequahic) had eight points (3-8 FG).
Other standouts for the Knights included junior forward TAQUAN ABDULLAH (Kenilworth, NJ/David Brearley) with seven points on a perfect 2-of-2 shooting from the field and line, with three assists. Junior point guard KEITH WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) chalked up seven points with four assists, three steals and two blocks and sophomore forward WALIK ALBRIGHT (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) contributed seven points. Even rookie MICHAEL JOHNSON (Newark, NJ/Irvington), known for his defense, nailed a three—the only shot he took in the game—as the Knights buried 10 triples in the contest (10-27, .370).
Montclair received a double-double in a losing effort from senior forward Tyrone Prewitt (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Central), finishing with 16 points (8-14 FG) and 15 rebounds (nine defensive). Junior forward Andrew August (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) added 15 points (4-8 FG, 7-9 FT) and eight rebounds (seven defensive). Freshman guard Michael Price (Plainfield, NJ/Plainfield) totaled nine points (4-8 FG) and three assists.
FEBRUARY 16, 2011— MONTCLAIR 62, NJCU 53: In a game Montclair had to win to qualify for the NJAC Tournament, NJCUtrailed at halftime for the first time in more than two months and suffered its third lowest shooting performance of the season as MSU, in a must-win situation, snapped the Gothic Knights nine-game winning streak with a 62-53 decision in the regular season finale for both schools at the Panzer Athletic Center.
Two days after NJCU pounded Montclair by 20 points, the Red Hawks needed to win to claim the third and final NJAC Tournament berth and with the victory eliminated Rutgers-Newark from tournament contention.
While MSU and NJCU both finished the year 8-5 in the NJAC, NJCU had already clinched the No. 2 seed prior to the game with a better divisional record; the Knights were 5-3, MSU was 4-4.
NJCU shot .316 overall (18-57)—its lowest percentage since making 17-of-56 (.304) in a 55-47 loss to Rowan on January 22, and the Knights nine point loss was its largest margin of defeat this season.
In defeat, JAMES LIVINGSTON posted a game-high with 17 points in 21 minutes off the bench, highlighted by his free throw prowess. The 17 points match a career high as he scored in double figures for the fifth consecutive game and sixth time in seven outings. Livingston shot 11-of-12 from the foul line for the second time in three games. ROB ROBINSON scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting and 2-of-3 three-pointers, adding six rebounds. No other NJCU player scored more than five.
Despite NJCU's bench outscoring the Montclair reserves, 39-10, the Knights received little contribution from its five starters, which combined for 14 points on 6-of-28 (.214).
Montclair only played eight men in the must-win game, and everyone in its starting lineup saw at least 28 minutes. Junior forward Andrew August led the Red Hawks with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Sophomore guard A.J. Larkin (Passaic, NJ/St. Mary's (Rutherford) added 12 points (2-7 FG) and six rebounds and senior point guard Rodney Freeney (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) chipped in 12 points (5-13 FG).
Tyrone Prewitt finished with 11 rebounds (10 defensive), six points, three assists and three steals. Senior guard Tom Bonard (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) provided nine points (2-10 FG, 1-6 3FG) and senior forward Sean Young (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) added eight points (3-6 FG), eight rebounds and two blocks.
Montclair led 28-24 at halftime. Larkin buried two three-pointers to open the second half for a 34-24 lead and when August converted a layup with 16:09 left for a 12-point, 36-24 lead, NJCU faced its largest deficit in any game all year.
A jumper by Livingston and a layup from KEITH WILLIAMS sliced the lead back to 42-38, but three free throws—two by Young and one by August boosted the Montclair lead back to 45-38 midway through the period. Livingston hit a jumper at the 9:40 mark to cut it to five, but that would be the last field goal NJCU would make until 42 seconds remained. Over the 8:58 drought, NJCU shot 0-for-8 from the field.
Livingston sank two from the line with 6:30 left to bring the Gothic Knights within five points at 49-44. That would be as close as NJCU would get the rest of the way. Prewittmade one from the line and Larkin two of his own before August finished off a fast break with a layup as Montclair pushed the lead back to double-digits at 54-44 with 5:11 left.
Montclair would only manage one basket after that, and none over the final 4:10, but maintained its lead by going 6-of-8 at the line. Freeney connected on two of those with 1:49 to play for a 60-50 advantage and Bonard hit two 10 seconds later as Montclair led 62-50.
LAST TIME OUT for NJCU: On Tuesday, NJCU jumped out to leads of 9-0 and 12-2 and never trailed, before eliminating NJAC South Division champion Kean University, 75-61, in the NJAC Semifinals at Harwood Arena.
NJCU's two all-conference point guards, Da'Shon Barrino and KEITH WILLIAMS combined for 34 of NJCU's 75 points. Kean was not able to overcome the loss of senior forward Jonathan Jones (Linden, NJ/Linden), who earlier in the day was named the NJAC Player of the Year, who was injured 22 seconds into the game and never returned.
Barrino led all players with 18 points, shooting 5-of-8 from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point distance and 6-of-6 from the foul line with three assists and two steals and Williams added 16 points (3-7 FG, 2-5 3FG), shooting 8-of-9 from the line.
JAMES LIVINGSTON was the third NJCU player in double figures, finishing with 10 points (2-5 FG, 5-6 FT) and five rebounds off the bench. Livingston, the NJAC leader in free throw percentage at .854 (Barrino is second at .848), extended his recent free throws converted streak to 48-of-51. JOSH HOSANG added eight points (3-5 FG) and two steals. WALIK ALBRIGHT finished with seven points (3-7 FG).
STILL HOT: NJCU has won 11 of its last 12 games and 15th in 18 contests since opening the year at 3-6 (0-2 NJAC). NJCU has won 10 of its last 13 NJAC games, including the NJAC Tournament.
HOME COOKIN': NJCU is now 10-2 at home this season and has won 13 of its last 15 in Jersey City since last season.
LEADING THE LEAGUE: NJCU leads the NJAC in a league-best seven of 21 categories—scoring margin, free throw percentage, field goal percentage defense, blocked shots, steals, turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio. Ramapo College is second with four categories led while Montclair is third with three categories—field goal Percentage, rebounding margin and defensive rebound percentage.
WIN, BY A LOT: NJCU has won eight of its 17 games by at least 20 points this season and 14 times by double figures. Furthermore, the Knights have posted wins of 30 or more five times and three routs by 50 points (56, 53, 51).
SCORING MARGIN: NJCU's scoring margin (+13.0) is 14th in Division III this season. In the NJAC, the margin is 4.3 more than the second place team, Ramapo.
WE'LL TAKE THAT: NJCU is now No. 4 in Division III among 402 schools in steals at 12.0 per game. In the NJAC, the Knights are first in steals—2.2 per game more than Ramapo. KEITH WILLIAMS is the conference leader at 2.8 per game, ranking 21st nationally.
TAKE IT, DON'T GIVE IT: NJCUs turnover margin of +6.07 per game is a staggering 4.79 more per game than any other school in the conference. The College of New Jersey is a distant second at +1.28 per game. NJCU ranks No. 7 nationally in turnover margin. No other school in the NJAC ranks higher than 108th.
D-FENCE: NJCU leads the NJAC in field goal percentage defense (.393). The Knights rank No. 21 in the country as a team in the important defensive category. The Knights also rank 35th nationally in scoring defense (62.1). The Knights have limited an opponent to fewer than 50 points eight times this season.
LIVINGSTON OWNING THE LINE: JAMES LIVINGSTON is living it up on the foul line over his last nine games. He is now the NJAC leader in free throw percentage at .854 (70-82) and in the win over Kean, extended his free throws converted streak to 48-of-51. Da'Shon Barrino ranks second in the league in foul shooting at .848 (56-66).
THE LINE: NJCU, for the first time in recent history, leads the NJAC in free throw percentage (.701). While Livingston and Barrino rank 1-2 in the league, KEITH WILLIAMS is seventh (.772). NJCU's current free throw percentage is its fifth best since the athletic department began tracking the category in 1962-63.
|
NJCU'S BEST FREE-THROW SHOOTING SEASONS SINCE 1962-63 (49 seasons)
|
|
YEAR
|
GAMES
|
FT-FTA
|
FT PERCENTAGE
|
|
1977-78
|
27
|
413-561
|
.736
|
|
1978-79
|
29
|
458-638
|
.718
|
|
1979-80
|
29
|
484-685
|
.707
|
|
1981-82
|
25
|
385-546
|
.705
|
|
2010-11
|
25
|
426-615
|
.701
|
|
1969-70
|
25
|
434-623
|
.697
|
NO AWARDS: NJCU's team is so balanced this season that no player has won an NJAC weekly Player or Rookie of the Week award because no one has accumulated enough statistics to warrant an award. KEITH WILLIAMS and Da'Shon Barrino, NJCU's leading scorers at 11.1 and 10.9 per game, respectively, only rank No. 16 and 17 in the NJAC. However, NJCU has six players averaging at least seven points per game and eight averaging five or more.
STUFF IT: NJCU's size and athleticism has helped the team lead the conference with 4.4 rejections per game. NJCU has four players ranking in the Top 14 in the NJAC in blocks—TAQUAN ABDULLAH (8th), ROB ROBINSON (10th), JOSH HOSANG (11th) and WALIK ALBRIGHT (14th).
HANDLING THE PRESSURE : Da'Shon Barrino is second in the league with a 1.4 assist/turnover ratio (66 assists, 46 turnovers); JAMES LIVINGSTON ranks fifth with a 1.3 ratio (57 assists, 43 turnovers).—www.njcugothicknights.com—
