New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE

GALLOWAY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University led by 12 points with 15 minutes remaining, but SUNY Old Westbury shot 62 percent in the second half and scored the final 12 points of the game while holding the Gothic Knights scoreless in the last 5:24 as the Panthers ousted NJCU, 65-52, in the 2013 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Metro Tournament Semifinals on March 2 at the Stockton Sports Center.
 
NJCU's 80^th season of intercollegiate men's basketball ends with a mark of 15-13 as the sixth-seeded Gothic Knights lose to Old Westbury (24-4) for the first time in five all-time meetings. OW, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, set a single-season school record for wins while advancing to face top-seeded at host Richard Stockton College—67-53 winners over fifth-seeded John Jay College in the other semifinal—in Sunday's ECAC title game.
 
The Knights shot 29 percent in the second half (9-31) and just 32.3 percent for the game (21-65) while making 2-of-15 from three-point range. While NJCU's nationally No. 10 ranked scoring defense did limit Old Westbury to its second lowest scoring total of the season and the fewest points in a win this season, the Panthers did shoot 52.3 percent overall (23-44) and 61.9 percent in the second period (13-21). The 65 points by OW were the fewest since netting 63 in a season-opening loss to Salisbury University on November 16.
 
NJCU led by three at halftime and 39-27 with 15:26 remaining before OW used a 14-2 run over a span of 4:46 to tie the game at 41-41. OW outscored NJCU in the second half, 42-26.

In defeat, NJCU accomplished a single-season team record for lowest scoring defense, finished the season allowing just 58.3 points per game—smashing the mark of 58.7 points per game set nearly 50 years ago in 1963-64.
  
Sophomore forward DREW MARLEY (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) came off the bench to score 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting in 19  minutes, adding five rebounds. Junior guard ASMAR EDWARDS (Paterson, NJ/John F. Kennedy) provided 10 points (4-11 FG), a game-high eight rebounds, with four steals and two assists. Sophomore guard DAKWAN SIMMONS (Newark, NJ/University) shot 3-of-6 (2-4 3FG) and tallied nine points.
 
Senior small forward JOSH CAVER (Trenton, NJ/Pennsbury (Fairless Hills, PA) finished with seven rebounds and four assists  but shot 2-of-7 and scored four points in his final career game. Freshman guard/forward KHALID MUHAMMAD (Orange, NJ/Orange), the 2013 NJAC Rookie of the Year, tallied nine points and three steals but fouled out shooting 4-of-15 overall (0-8 3FG).
 
Old Westbury had three players reach double figures led by junior swingman Tyrik Tucker (Brooklyn, NY) with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting, seven rebounds (six defensive) and four steals while senior guard Rashawn McCarthy (Westbury, NY) had a game-high 16 points, making 9-of-15 from the line and 3-of-8 from the field with three assists in 37 minutes.
 
Senior swingman Ty Moore (Brooklyn, NY) had 11 points (4-6 FG) and five rebounds while senior center Darnell Chavis (New York, NY) contributed nine points (4-7 FG) and seven boards (six defensive) for the Panthers.

The Panthers, a high-scoring team all season, turned 21 Gothic Knight turnovers into a 25-12 margin in points off giveaways and a 16-2 differential on the fast break.
 
In the first half it was OW controlling the game early on as Tucker put the Skyline Conference squad in front by nine with 7:55 to go after a fast-break jumper and a subsequent steal and dunk for a 23-14 margin. NJCU would battle back uncorking a 12-0 run to close the first half while holding the Panthers without a field goal for the final 7:55 of the period. Two baskets by Muhammad whittled the deficit to three before Edwards scored with 6:04 left to cut it to 23-22. Rookie guard BRENT BURGESS, JR. (Roselle, NJ/Dickinson) gave NJCU a 24-23 lead with 5:03 left before Muhammad made it a 26-23 lead at the 3:50 mark. Neither side scored the remainder of the half and the Knights led by three at the break.
 
NJCU extended its two-period run to 15-0 by scoring the first three points of the second half and pushed the margin to seven when Marley hit a jumper with 15:26 to play for a 39-27 cushion that gave the Knights a sizzling 25-4 scoring differential over a span of 12:29.
 
But the Panthers rallied, using the 14-2 run to tie the game at 41-41 as McCarthy scored the final six points of the spurt. Muhammad hit a jumper to end the streak before McCarthy, who scored 14 points in the second half, gave OW its first lead (44-43) since the 5:04 mark of the first half. Marley hit a jumper with 9:29 to give the Knights their final lead of the game. OW moved back in front and held a pair of four-point leads, including 53-49 with 5:39 to play on a McCarthy free throw before a three-point play by Marley trimmed the deficit to one, 53-52, with 5:24 remaining. NJCU would not score again while missing its final eight shots of the game.
 
Moore sank a three with 5:02 to play and McCarthy extended the lead to 58-52 with a layup at the 3:16 mark before Moore converted a fast break with 2:39 to push the lead to eight (60-52). A basket by Tucker pushed the lead to 11 before OW iced the game from the line.