New Jersey City University Athletics

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JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | A week ago, the New Jersey City University  men's basketball team stood in last place in the brutally-tough New Jersey Athletic Conference North Division. But after a dominant win over rival Ramapo College on Wednesday night, NJCU once again controls its own destiny. The Gothic Knights led by as many as 18 points in the first half and withstood a comeback bid by Ramapo to move into a share of second place in the division with an 81-68 decision over the Roadrunners on “Coach Charlie Brown Court” at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.
 
NJCU improved to 16-5 and 6-4 in the NJAC while Ramapo (15-6, 6-4 NJAC) had its two-game winning streak snapped. Coupled with William Paterson University's 83-70 win over Montclair State University, NJCU, Ramapo and MSU are tied for second place in the division—a half game in front of idle Rutgers-Newark (12-9, 5-4 NJAC).
 
NJCU and Ramapo split the season series after RCNJ escaped with a 78-74 overtime win in the first meeting in Mahwah, NJ on January 4. In the 80^th meeting between the schools, NJCU leads the all-time series, 61-19.
 
Ramapo shot 30 free throws and sank 27 of them, for a 90 percent conversion rate, but NJCU out-rebounded the Roadrunners 42-27, including 21-8 on the offensive glass, and produced an 18-4 differential in second chance scoring.
 
NJCU entered the game with the league's top defense (63.0 points per game) while Ramapo was the NJAC's leading scoring offense (80.2 points per game). The Knights got the better end of the matchup, limiting RCNJ to its third lowest scoring total of the season.
 
Facing a must-win scenario, leading scorer and junior swingman KAIHRIQUE IRICK (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) notched his seventh 20-point game of the season, collecting 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals in 36 minutes. He shot 8-of-15, including 2-of-3 from three-point distance, and 5-of-6 from the line.
 
Senior point guard KEITH WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) delivered a career-high seven assists, while adding 14 points (6-17 FG, 2-7 3FG) and five steals in 38 minutes. Junior swingman WALIK ALBRIGHT (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) grabbed his third 10-rebound game of the year, adding nine points in 36 minutes.
 
Ramapo junior forward Stephon Treadwell (Newark, NJ/Seton Hall Prep) tallied a career-high 27 points, shooting 8-of-9 overall and a perfect 11-for-11 from the line while playing a full 40 minutes. He previous best was 24 against Rutgers-Newark on January 18.
 
Fifth-year head coach MARC BROWN said: “this is a big time win. We needed it. We have to hold down the fort at home and we felt we should have beaten them up there [Mahwah], so I'm proud of the guys. It's about finishing and today we finished.”
 
“Even though other teams know our sets and prepare for us, we're pretty tough when we execute. We have a lot of guys playing with confidence. We executed in the second half and even though we still had some still turnovers, we cut down on them. And Keith [Williams] played a better floor game.”
 
Also for NJCU, junior guard NAADIR WILLIAMS (Newark, NJ/Weequahic) came off the bench for score nine points in 16 minutes (2-2 FG, 4-6 FT) and senior center MATT WASHINGTON (Hackensack, NJ/Paterson Catholic) chipped in eight points (4-9 FG), six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Junior guard MICHAEL MORRIS (Burlington, NJ/Burlington City) had seven points off the bench.
 
Ramapo junior guard Will Sanborn (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Regional), the third leading scorer in the league coming in (20.1 per game) finished with 18 points, but shot 5-of-17 overall (.294) and 3-of-11 from three-point range (.273).  
 
Junior guard Jermaine Emanuel (Englewood, NJ/Laney) had seven points and four assists. Meanwhile, junior guard Garret Thiel (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South), who had 21 points in the first meeting, and entered averaging 13.1 points, was limited to six points while committing five turnovers in 23 minutes before fouling out.
 
In the first half, Ramapo scored the first four points, but once NJCU claimed a 6-4 lead, the hosts never trailed again. After a 10-10 tie, the Knights built a 17-10 lead after a KEITH WILLIAMS triple and increased the lead to 10 on a three by Morris (26-16). Freshman forward JAQUAN COOK (New Brunswick, NJ/New Brunswick) had an offensive rebound and putback that maintained a 10-point lead before Irick, who scored 14 points in the first half, knocked down another three for a 14-point, 35-21 advantage.
 
After Ramapo trimmed the lead to nine (35-27) with 5:22 left in the period, the Knights ran off the next 10 points to build an 18-point, 45-27 lead with 1:57 left in the half. Five different players scored during the streak including a three by rookie guard DAVID COLE (Avenel, NJ/Colonia). Sanborn hit a three just six seconds before halftime to make it a 13-point game at the intermission (45-32).
 
Early in the second half, NJCU led 47-34 before Ramapo began to draw closer as Treadwell (15 points) and Sanborn (10 points) combined for 25 points in the final 20 minutes. The Roadrunners produced a 15-4 run and cut the deficit to two points with 14:04 remaining after a trey and two foul shots by Sanborn. A fast-break steal and layup by KEITH WILLIAMS after another offensive rebound and layup by Cook made it a six-point contest before two buckets by Treadwell once again made it a two-point game, 55-53, with 11:19 to play.
 
That was as close as the visitors would get. Baskets by NAADIR WILLIAMS and Irick made it 59-53 before Sanborn cut the lead in half with a three for a 59-56 score with 8:51 left.
 
But the Knights unleashed a decisive 13-2 outburst to finish off the Roadrunners. A layup by Washington off a down low pass from Irick began the run. With 7:30 left, Irick made one foul shot and missed the second, but followed his own shot, grabbing the offensive rebound before draining a mid-range jumper in the lane for a 64-56 lead.
 
NJCU's size advantage paid off all night on the glass, and a perfect example came on the next possession. After a KEITH WILLIAMS strip, NJCU had three chances for a fast-break basket and missed three times, but grabbed the offensive rebound each time and on the fourth attempt Albright tipped home a shot as the lead swelled to 66-56 with 6:43 to play. KEITH WILLIAMS and NAADIR WILLIAMS banged down back-to-back three-pointers to cap the run as the Knights claimed a 14-point, 72-58 decision.
 
Ramapo couldn't get closer than 10 the rest of the night. Layups by Albright and Irick maintained the 14-point lead (76-62) with under three to play and NJCU sealed the win from the line.
 
All 10 NJCU players who saw time had at least one field goal and the Knights reserves outscored the RCNJ bench, 25-4. NJCU also had a 44-26 advantage in the paint.
 
NJCU has a conference bye this weekend and will be idle for one week until facing Montclair State University on Wednesday, February 8 at 8 p.m. in Montclair, NJ. NJCU won the first meeting against the Red Hawks, 70-62, on January 11. Ramapo hosts #20 William Paterson on Saturday, February 4 at 3 p.m. in Mahwah.
 
“We're going to prepare for this game [Montclair State] like we do all the time, as if we're fighting for our lives,” said Brown. “After a hard fought game, we have a week off. We told these guys these final four games are a do-or-die situation. We still need a win somewhere on the road and have to hold down the fort at home.”