New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score GAME PROGRAM/NOTES: Gothic Knight Insights feature, JOURDAN ROBERSON

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University led Richard Stockton College by 10 in the first half and five at the break before the Gothic Knights faltered in the second half with Stockton shooting 56.5 percent in the period and manufacturing a pair of decisive runs in a 69-51 New Jersey Athletic Conference men's basketball victory over NJCU on December 7 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on 'Coach Charlie Brown Court.'
 
In a match-up of the league's top two teams in the preseason—league favorite Stockton improved to 6-1 (3-1 NJAC) while sending NJCU (5-3. 2-2 NJAC) to its third straight defeat after a 5-0 start to the year.
 
Trailing by five at the half, Stockton took advantage of a key NJCU injury and opened the period on a 13-3 run to claim a 37-32 lead at the 14:32 mark before unleashing a second spurt—a 14-3 streak that saw the visitors move into double figures and gain a 51-37 advantage at the 9:08 mark.
 
The Ospreys were unchallenged from there, shooting 13-of-23 in the second half and 15-of-19 from the line, good for 78.9 percent. NJCU struggled in the period, making 8-of-25 shots (.320).
 
Stockton shot 44.4 percent for the game and only made one more field goal than NJCU (20-19). But the game was decided with timely three-point shooting and at the line where Stockton had 15 more chances and capitalized, shooting 21-of-28 overall (.750). NJCU was granted 13 free throws, making six (.462).
 
In defeat, senior small forward WALIK ALBRIGHT (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) posted his 46^th career double-digit scoring effort, notching a team-high 12 points (4-9 FG), making 2-of-3 from three-point range with nine rebounds (seven defensive) and three steals in 33 minutes.
 
Junior shooting guard DAVID COLE (Avenel, NJ/Colonia) was brilliant in the first half, knocking down three consecutive three-pointers and he had a period-high nine points (3-4 3FG) in the first 20 minutes. But with the game tied at 15:01 remaining in the second half, he went to the floor with an apparent knee injury that changed the momentum in the game.
 
Other statistical leaders for NJCU included sophomore guard KHALID MUHAMMAD (Orange, NJ/Orange) with eight points and eight rebounds, but he shot 3-of-14 (0-5 3FG). Junior center EDDIE BROWN (Newark, NJ/Newark East Side) had seven rebounds (six offensive), six points and two blocks in 16 minutes (3-11 FG). Junior point guard JOURDAN ROBERSON (Brooklyn, NY/University (Newark)) finished with seven points (3-6 FG) and three assists.
 
Three players netted double figures for Stockton, paced by junior guard James Williams (Englewood, NJ/Englewood) who scored 17 points in 22 reserve minutes, shooting 6-of-10 overall and 3-of-6 from three-point distance.
 
Senior guard Kevin Johnson (Paulsboro, NJ/Paulsboro) tallied 15 points (4-7 FG), six rebounds and four steals with junior forward Josh Blamon (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) collecting 14 points (4-7 FG), including 3-of-6 three-point shooting.
 
Also for Stockton, senior forward Nnamdi Usuwa (Avenel, NJ/Colonia) grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds (eight defensive) with seven points (3-6 FG) and two blocks and senior guard Rameel Johnson (Newark, NJ/Science Park) chipped in nine rebounds (six defensive), seven points and five assists.
 
When asked what happened in the second half after a brilliant opening 20 minutes, a frustrated seventh-year head coach Marc Brown responded: "Your guess is as good as mine. This was the most disappointing loss of my coaching career. With the talent we have for us to completely lose focus and lose control of the game like that in the second half—to be honest with you I have no answers."
 
"On December 16 [after finals week] we come back to practice and we're starting from the ground floor. It's going to be like preseason and whoever is playing the best in practice is going to start and play in the games. And that's what we told them. We have to break this thing completely up and start from ground zero next week. We have too many guys who came in with lofty expectations who aren't playing well and there has to be a change. It's still early enough that we can salvage the season. I'm not saying the season is over; we're still .500 in the conference, but we have to make some changes."
 
Stockton, the sixth team to make the 2012-13 postseason that NJCU has already faced in 2013-14, fell behind in the first half as the teams traded five leads. An 11-2 spurt for NJCU, capped by a three from Cole at 11:03 of the period, saw the hosts surge in front, 16-8 before a pair of threes, the second by James Williams, tied it at 16-16. Stockton gained a 19-16 lead with 7:30 to play at the end of a Rameel Johnson three-point play that highlighted Stockton's first large run of the game at 11-0.
 
Three-point shooting sparked NJCU to an answer in the form of a 13-0 run over a span of 5:19. A jumper from Roberson was followed by a three by Cole at 23-19 and Albright buried a trey at 4:30 for a 26-19 cushion. Cole buried another three with 3:36 to play as the margin expanded to 29-19, before Stockton scored the final five points of the half.
 
But the 13-3 run to start the second half—18-3 when the late first half was factored in—saw Kevin Johnson and James Williams  Blamon push the differential to five (37-32). NJCU trimmed it to three before Williams and Johnson sank threes for a 43-34 advantage. Williams scored the next five points—a fast-break steal and layup and a three to extend the margin to 51-37 and the lead to 14 at the tail end of the final major run of the afternoon (14-3). Stockton led by double figures the rest of the way and by as many as 21 points with 3:47 to go.
 
NJCU will be idle until December 28 when it faces Randolph College in the opening round of the 12^th annual CSI Tournament of Heroes at the College of Staten Island.