New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score GAME NOTES/PROGRAM: Gothic Knight Insights, JUSTIN HARTE

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | In a battle of unbeatens, Albertus Magnus College shot 64.7 percent from three-point range (11-17), including an incredible 77.8 percent—7-of-9—in the second half as the Falcons burst out of the break on runs of 10-0 and 21-2 en route to a 77-63 non-conference victory over New Jersey City University on December 1 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on 'Coach Charlie Brown Court.'
 
Tied at 36-36 at the intermission, Albertus (4-0) hit four three-pointers, including three by senior swingman and D3hoops.com Preseason All-American Darius Watson to seize a 57-40, 17-point advantage in the first seven minutes of the second period and cruised from there. NJCU (5-1) drops its first game after a 5-0 start to the season. It was the first meeting between the schools.
 
The Falcons were the fourth team to qualify for the 2013 NCAA Tournament that NJCU faced in the first six games of the season and the Gothic Knights were 3-1 in that stretch.
 
In defeat, senior small forward WALIK ALBRIGHT (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) equaled his career high, scoring 15 of his 21 points in the first half—after scoring 21 in a win at Ramapo on November 23. It was his third career 20-point scoring effort and 45^th time in double figures. He shot 6-of-13 (9-16 FT) with six rebounds, five steals and two assists.
 
Watson scored 12 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, hitting 7-of-10 from the field, including a sizzling 6-of-8 (.750) from three-point range. While he was held slightly under his scoring average (26.0 ppg), he added seven board in 36 minutes.
 
"They made threes; no one has shot the ball this well against us from three in my career here," noted seventh-year head coach Marc Brown, on what differentiated the Falcons from other teams NJCU has faced. "We knew that's what they were going to be doing, running to the three-point line and our wing guys didn't get out and stop them. Once you get a shooter in a little rhythm, they're hard to stop and that's what happened. "It started in the first half and then we came out in the beginning of the second half really lackadaisical and we paid for it."
 
NJCU only committed 11 turnovers versus 24 Falcon giveaways and had a more than 2-to-1 margin in the paint, 42-20. But four different AMC players hit a three, led by Watson. Meanwhile, NJCU shot just 1-of-12 (.083) from three-point range and 33.8 percent from the floor (22-65), missing a number of big shots when the game was tight. Albertus outshoot NJCU in the second half, 54.5 percent to 28.1 percent and out-rebounded NJCU overall, 47-36.
 
For the Falcons, Victor Ljuljdjuraj used his 6-foot-8 frame to power his way to 11 points (3-7 FG) and eight defensive boards in 20 minutes before being one of three visiting players to foul out. Lemar Larsen tallied 12 points, shooting 5-of-6 from the field in 20 minutes before picking up five fouls and point guard Eian Davis finished with nine points and eight assists to overcome seven turnovers and 2-of-14 shooting.
 
Albertus also received 11 rebounds (seven defensive) and six points (3-5 FG) from junior center Marcus Walker (Newark, NJ/Newark Tech) off the bench before fouling out. Kyle Wiggins shot 3-of-5 from three-point distance, finishing with nine points in 16 reserve minutes.
 
In defeat for NJCU, shooting guard KHALID MUHAMMAD (Orange, NJ/Orange) notched 10 of his 13 points in the first half, finishing 5-of-9 from the field.  Junior center EDDIE BROWN (Newark, NJ/Newark East Side) collected nine points (4-11 FG) in 13 minutes.
 
"We didn't shoot well from the field," Brown said, discussing a number of missed layups and short jumpers that ultimately hurt NJCU's chances of staying in the game. "Our bigs did a poor job of finishing, we didn't shoot the three well and once again we didn't shoot free throws well. We really didn't turn the ball over but for some reason we're not rebounding well. There are a lot of things we have to correct. It's a non-conference game so we're going to regroup and look forward to Wednesday."
 
The Falcons, two-time defending Great Northeast Athletic Conference champions, entered the game with a 55-7 ledger in its last 62 games over two-plus seasons and after EDDIE BROWN gave NJCU its final lead of the game on the opening possession of the second half (38-36), roared to 10 consecutive points. A Larsen layup tied it, Ljuljdjuraj hit a shot and Watson drilled a three, making it 43-38. A tip-in by Walker capped the 10-point streak.
 
After an Albright layup with 15:12 to play made it a six-point game, AMC began pulling away from an NJCU squad that had not trailed by more than nine all season or more than four points in the second half. Watson drilled back-to-back threes (15:03 and 14:25) for a 52-40 lead and Ljuljdjuraj made two from the line, then sank a three from the corner with 13:12 to go as the lead swelled to 17—50-47—at the end of an 11-0 spurt, and the Falcons led by double digits the rest of the way. A Wiggins three with 8:26 left gave AMC its largest lead (21, 69-48).
 
In the first half, NJCU held an 8-4 lead that was quickly erased with a 7-1 spurt, capped by a Wiggins trey before a Watson triple made it 14-11. Watson hit another three and a layup with 14:01 left to extend the margin to six (19-13). AMC still led by eight with 9:43 to play (24-16). NJCU slowly whittled away at the deficit, trimming it to two, 27-25, after layups by Muhammad and Albright, before a triple from the left wing by junior shooting guard DAVID COLE (Avenel, NJ/Colonia), who had six points and five rebounds, put NJCU in front, 28-27.
 
After Watson made two from the line and Walker sank a jumper, AMC again led by three. NJCU answered with Albright scoring the next six points, including four from the line and the Knights extended its advantage to five, 36-31, with 1:04 to play in the period, scoring eight consecutive points and 16-of-20 after falling behind 27-20. Final minute baskets by Wiggins (three-pointer) and Davis would tie the game at 36-36 heading to the half.
 
In all, Albertus amassed a run of 26-4 in an eight-minute window between the end of the first half and first seven minutes of the second period.
 
NJCU is back on the court on Wednesday, December 4 at 8 p.m. when it heads to Glassboro, NJ for a New Jersey Athletic Conference game at Rowan University.