New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Junior swingman KAIHRIQUE IRICK (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) notched his sixth 20-point scoring effort of the season, matching his career-high with 27 points, and all five Gothic Knight starters netted double figures as New Jersey City University won its 11^th game, holding off a late comeback bid from John Jay College, 83-71, in a non-conference men's basketball game on Monday night at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on 'Coach Charlie Brown Court.'
 
NJCU improved to 11-2—it's best 13-game start since winning 25 of its first 27 games during the 1989-90 campaign. John Jay dropped to 7-8, dropping its fourth straight outing. NJCU leads the all-time series, 14-0.
 
NJCU blocked 15 shots in the game—its most since rejecting 15 against Berkeley College on December 8, 2008 and four different players blocked at least three each.
 
Irick, who scored 27 in an overtime loss at Ramapo on January 4, reached the 20-point threshold for the fifth time in his last eight outings, while setting a career high for field goals made, shooting 12-of-17 (.706). He added seven rebounds and three blocks in 33 minutes and would have set a career high had he not struggled from the foul line (2-7).
 
Overall, NJCU's starting lineup accounted for 80 of its 83 points in the game. John Jay only received nine bench points and had nearly half of its points from one player.
 
John Jay senior forward Jerome Alexander (Brooklyn, NY/Elmont) banked 35 points with nine rebounds in a full 40 minutes of action; he shot 11-of-12 from the line and 12-of-31 from the field and scored 25 points in the second half.
 
NJCU senior point guard KEITH WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) collected 16 points (5-12 FG, 2-5 3FG) with six rebounds, five assists and four steals while junior swingman WALIK ALBRIGHT (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter)  collected 14 points (4-8 FG), nine rebounds (eight defensive), five assists, three blocks and two steals.
 
The Gothic Knights also received 12 points (5-8 FG), five rebounds, and three blocks from senior forward TAQUAN ABDULLAH (Kenilworth, NJ/David Brearley) with senior center MATT WASHINGTON (Hackensack, NJ/Paterson Catholic)  providing 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting and 3-for-3 success at the line. Washington chipped in six rebounds and four assists.
 
Junior center DAVID JONES (Millville, NJ/Cumberland Regional) had five blocks in just six minutes of action. All five came in the first half.
 
The Bloodhounds saw contributions from sophomore guard Jamar Harry (Brooklyn, NY/George Westinghouse) with 13 points (6-11 FG), five assists and four steals. Junior center Swindon Charles (Victoria, Grenada/St. Mark's Secondary) had a game-high 14 rebounds and had six points. Junior guard Isaiah Holman (New York, NY/Manhattan Center) ended with nine points, six rebounds and three steals.
 
Charles, at 6-foot-5, was John Jay's tallest player. In contrast, NJCU had five players of 6-foot-5 stature or taller see considerable action, as the Knights reached double figures in blocks for the first time since January 2009. But John Jay managed to out-rebound NJCU, 46-43, including a 17-8 difference on the offensive glass.
Fifth-year head coach Marc Brown was disappointed in his team's late effort as John Jay managed to whittle a 17-point, 71-54 lead with 5:21 remaining to just five with 1:47 left. Harry netted seven points and Alexander added six during a late 12-1 that made it a 72-67 contest in the final minutes.
 
“My job as coach is to have these guys ready to play and we have to do better. The good thing is we won. If you look at the stats, the turnovers (22) were key. They out-rebounded us despite not having a player over 6-5.”
 
Irick, who scored 21 points in the second half alone, sparked NJCU's offensive effort in the period as the Knights shot 61.3 percent (19-31) and finished the night over 50 percent from the field (31-61, .508).
 
“He's a scorer at any level on anyone,” Brown said about his leading scorer's efforts. “He got those 27 pretty easily tonight. If he had hit his free throws he would have had over 30. I'm trying to get him to become a better defender. This is something we'll continue to work on.”
 
NJCU, which scored its first field goal with 16:38 left (3-2), never trailed again after taking its first lead. NJCU and John Jay played a tightly-contested game for much of the period. NJCU, which had a 20-10 edge in fast break scoring, opened a 10-point advantage (24-14) with 5:26 left in the opening half on a Williams basket, before heading to the break up by five, 30-25.
 
John Jay twice cut the deficit to two early in the second half before NJCU unleashed a 15-1 outburst to gain a 48-32 lead. After a three-point play by Washington, Williams buried back-to-back three-pointers in a span of 35 seconds and Irick converted a layup to cap the spurt with 14:01 to play.
 
The guests drew within seven points (55-48) before NJCU scored 16 of the next 22 points to push the lead to 71-54 with 5:21 left. Irick had seven during the stretch.
 
After John Jay rallied late, cutting the deficit to 72-67 when Alexander sank a jumper with 1:47 to go, NJCU responded by quickly putting the game away. Irick buried a three with 1:26 to play and after JJC hit another jumper, Abdullah flushed a fast-break dunk off a Williams assist with 1:02 left. Irick put the game back into double figures before a pair of Williams foul shots iced it.
 
NJCU plays its first home New Jersey Athletic Conference game since December 3 when it hosts Montclair State University on Wednesday, January 11 at 8 p.m. It will be the first meeting between the clubs since NJCU's 72-67 victory over MSU in the 2011 NJAC championship game on February 25, 2011.
 
“I'm looking forward to seeing how Matt [Washington] does this Wednesday, going against Andrew August, who in my opinion is the best big post player in the conference. It's going to be a great game. They [Montclair] are well-coached with a good backcourt and are playing with confidence. I'm looking forward to it.”