New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES
SENIOR DAY PHOTO GALLERY

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University's lowest field goal percentage of the season came at the most inopportune of times. In a matchup to determine the final berth in the 2012 New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament out of the NJAC North Division, the defending NJAC champion Gothic Knights had their chances of a repeat derailed by shooting 30.9 percent overall and 13.6 percent from three-point range and Rutgers-Newark held on in the final minute for a 55-51 victory on Wednesday night at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on “Coach Charlie Brown Court.”
 
After opening the year with six straight wins and a 9-1 record during the months of November and December, the Gothic Knights (17-7, 7-6 NJAC) went just 8-6 during the 2012 portion of the schedule and do not qualify for the conference tournament for the fourth time in the last five years under the current two division format.
 
Newark (14-11, 7-6 NJAC), finished with the same league mark as NJCU, but claimed its sixth appearance in the NJAC Tournament in the last eight years, by sweeping the Gothic Knights in a season for just the second time in the history of the series, which NJCU leads 58-13. Newark, which also won the first meeting between the teams on January 25 by four points (73-69), last swept NJCU in 2010.
 
Had NJCU won, the Knights would have hosted an NJAC Quarterfinal game and clinched the No. 2 seed after Montclair State University upset Ramapo College on the road on Wednesday night. Newark clinches the No. 3 seed and will travel to NJAC South #2 seeded Kean University on Saturday, February 18 for a first round game. Ramapo holds onto the No. 2 seed in the north division with NJCU's loss.
 
With the loss, NJCU, still ranked fifth in the NCAA Division III Atlantic Region, remains a longshot for a repeat berth in the NCAA Tournament. A more likely scenario is that the Knights will qualify for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Metro Tournament; the eight qualifying teams will be announced on February 27 with first round games on Wednesday, February 29.
 
NJCU shot 21-of-68 overall and 3-of-22 from three-point range. In the team's most important game of the year, the field goal percentage and three-point percentages were both significantly season lows. NJCU's previous low was 36.4 percent (16-44) in a loss at Richard Stockton College on January 14.
 
On a day where each team had a lot at stake, Newark did not shoot much better, making just 33.3 percent of its shots—matching the lowest shooting output by an opponent this year. But the Scarlet Raiders had a decisive advantage from the free throw line, shooting 22-of-30 (.733). In contrast, the Knights shot just 10 free throws, making six.
 
NJCU forced 18 Newark turnovers but scored just 18 points off those giveaways. Meanwhile, the Knights only committed 13 turnovers, but the visitors converted those mistakes in 19 points.
 
NJCU forced 18 Newark turnovers but scored just 18 points off those giveaways. Meanwhile, the Knights only committed 13 turnovers, but the visitors converted those mistakes into 19 points.
 
Prior to its final regular season home contest, NJCU honored its three seniors—four-year forward TAQUAN ABDULLAH (Kenilworth, NJ/David Brearley), two-year point guard KEITH WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) and center MATT WASHINGTON (Hackensack, NJ/Paterson Catholic).
 
Newark was led by senior guard Pedro Burgos (Fort Lee, NJ/Fort Lee) who also had an off-shooting night (4-for-14) but managed to nearly match his season scoring average (17.5) by collecting 17 points in 38 minutes. He shot 3-of-5 from three-point distance and 6-for-6 from the line.
Junior point guard Al'Don Muhammad (Irvington, NJ/Queen of Peace) had 13 points and four assists in 34 minutes, committing seven turnovers. He converted 10-of-13 from the foul line. Senior guard Greg Moore (Jersey City, NJ/Bayonne) finished with 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting (1-6 3FG). Burgos, Muhammad and Moore combined to score 41 of Newark's 55 points. Senior forward Jeremiah Rivers (Newark, NJ/St. Anthony's) had eight rebounds to lead Newark on the glass.
 
NJCU's only player in double figures was junior swingman KAIHRIQUE IRICK (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) with 15 points (6-20 FG, 0-4 3FG), eight rebounds and three assists. He led NJCU in scoring for the 14^th time this season.
 
Junior swingman WALIK ALBRIGHT (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) had a game-high 10 rebounds and was one point shy of a double-double with nine points, but shot 3-for-11 in 39 minutes. Williams, on Senior Night, fouled out of a game for the first time this season and only the third time in two years. He managed eight points and three assists but also struggled from the field (4-13 FG, 0-6 3FG).
 
Junior guard MICHAEL MORRIS (Burlington, NJ/Burlington City) sank 2-of-4 from three-point distance (3-9 overall) and had five rebounds and three steals in 18 reserve minutes. Outside of Morris, the rest of the lineup shot 1-for-18 from beyond the arc.
 
NJCU, which lost for just the second time in 12 home games this year, looked like it was the better team early on, jumping out to leads of 10-2 and 12-4 with 11:03 left in the opening period.
 
The Raiders struck back over the next six minutes, unleashing a 15-0 run and gained a 19-12 advantage with 4:58 to go in the half. Muhammad and Burgos shot a combined 10-for-10 from the line during the run and Burgos also hit a three.
 
NJCU stormed back with seven straight points, tying the game on an Irick layup after Albright had hit a three. Newark's basket with 2:41 left in the half was the final points of the opening stanza and the Raiders grasped a 23-21 lead at the break. The Raiders shot just 23.8 percent in the opening half (5-21) but made 12-of-14 from the stripe (.857). NJCU was 8-for-30 overall (.267) and 1-for-11 from three-point distance (.091).
 
In a game with seven ties and seven lead changes, the second half action lived up to a playoff atmosphere. Newark scored 10 of the first 12 points of the second half and claimed a 33-23 lead at the 16:52 mark. Moore and Muhammad hit back-to-back threes to open the streak and Moore added another jumper.
 
NJCU slowly began whittling away the deficit, and limited Newark to one field goal—a three-pointer by Burgos—over the next seven minutes. A three by Morris at 13:09 made it a four-point game and after Burgos' shot, two offensive rebounds and putbacks by Albright made it a two-point contest, 36-34, with 11:09 to play. After a pair of Newark foul shots by Moore and a jumper by Burgos with 10:04 left kept the lead at four, 40-36, Morris hit a three and Abdullah grabbed an offensive rebound of a missed three-pointer and put NJCU back on top, 41-40, with a layup with 9:04 left.
 
Newark went ahead on an and-one play by Rivers, before Williams forced the fifth tie with 7:22 left. A layup with 6:13 to go by Moore gave the guests a 46-43 margin, but a jumper by Morris cut it to one. With 5:19 to go, Morris stole the ball on the near sideline but missed a contested fast break basket. However, Abdullah was trailing the play, grabbed the missed shot, and made it 47-46, NJCU, with 5:11 remaining. Once again, Newark tied it and took a one-point lead on two Muhammad foul shots with 4:42 left.
 
NJCU would claim its final lead of the night with 3:24 on the clock as Irick putback a missed layup by Williams, who would foul out of the game with 2:50 to go and the Knights ahead by one, 49-48. Burgos gave Newark back the lead when he hit a straight-on three with 1:40 remaining—the visitors' first field goal in a span of 4:33. NJCU forced the seventh tie of the night, 51-51, when Irick followed his own missed shot with an offensive rebound and tip-in with 1:18 left.
 
But Newark would score the final four points to clinch its playoff berth. With 52.6 seconds left, freshman forward Christian Garcia (Freehold, NJ/Freehold), who had been just 1-for-8 from the line up to that point, sank both chances from the line.
 
With 27.4 seconds left, NJCU had a shot blocked by Muhammad, but Albright grabbed the offensive rebound to give the Knights another chance. But after a timeout, Morris was forced to drive to the basket with the shot clock winding down, and another block by Muhammad, who rejected the shot from behind, caused the shot clock to expire. Muhammad was fouled on the inbounds pass and knocked down both free throws for the final four point margin. NJCU missed two three-pointers in the final eight seconds trying to salvage the game.