LANCASTER, PA (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University led by as many as 17 points in the second half and held an 11-point margin with 6:25 to play before holding off a furious rally from defending Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference champion Bridgewater State University as the Gothic Knights defeated the Bears, 85-84, in the opening round of the Franklin & Marshall Rotary Tip-Off Tournament on November 15 at the Mayser Center.
 
NJCU (1-0) will face host F&M in Sunday's championship game; the Diplomats routed Washington & Jefferson College, 85-59, in the other tournament opening round contest.
 
Junior red-shirt shooting guard David Cole (Avenel, NJ/Colonia), who was lost eight games into last season with an ACL injury, made a triumphant return for the court, scoring a team high and career best 17 points in 24 minutes, shooting 5-of-8 from the field, 3-of-5 from three-point distance and 4-for-4 from the line.
 
In a physical contest that saw a combined 61 fouls whistled, the two clubs combined to shooting 62-of-89 from the foul line.
 
Justin Clark, who was instrumental in the BSU comeback bid, scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the second half.
 
Senior power forward Drew Marley (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) had a great opener, scoring 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting in 27 minutes. Junior shooting guard Khalid Muhammad (Orange, NJ/Orange) came off the bench to tally 12 points (3-5 FG, 6-9 FT) in 17 minutes and senior transfer Neville Joseph (Newark, NJ/West Side) added 11 points (3-8 FG, 5-12 FT) in his Gothic Knight debut at small forward.
 
In a game in which eight NJCU players scored at least six points, senior point guard Jourdan Roberson (Brooklyn, NY/University (Newark)) was 6-for-6 from the line, adding four assists. Senior center Eddie Brown (Newark, NJ/Newark East Side) tallied seven rebounds, six points, three steals and two blocks. He was one of two Gothic Knights to foul out.
 
Five BSU players scored in double figures. While Clark shot 6-of-13 overall (4-10 3FG) and made 6-of-10 foul shots, Kyle Gibson was busy from the stripe, shooting 10-of-11 while finishing with 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Tyler DeMelo also had 14 points (4-8 FG, 2-5 3FG). Patrick McGuinness added 10 points and four assists while Barrett Murphy tallied 10 points. The rest of the club mustered 14 points.
 
After Cole hit a three-pointer two minutes into the game, the Knights never trailed again, opening a 17-9 lead in the first 6:33 of the contest. He scored NJCU's first five points and seven of the first 11. Leading 17-12, the Knights notched the next eight points to seize a 13-point, 25-12 margin near the midway point. Junior transfer Bilal Abdul-Raheem (Piscataway, NJ/Fork Union (VA)) scored five during the stretch including a three-point play. The Bears eventually drew closer before the Knights went to the intermission leading by six, 39-33.
 
The Knights had a 16-2 differential in bench scoring in the first half and an 11-0 edge in second chance points, thanks to a 20-10 rebounding margin in the half. NJCU shot 50 percent from the field (12-14) and 87.5 percent from the line in the opening 20 minutes (14-16).
 
BSU, which made 24-of-32 from the line in the second half (.750), appeared in deep trouble when NJCU burst out of the locker room on a 13-0 break—claiming a 17-point, 50-33 advantage just 2:29 into the second period as four of five starters scored.
 

The NJCU lead stood in double figures for most of the half and when Cole buried a three with 7:38 to play, NJCU's advantage was 15—73-58.
 
Bridgewater shot .476 from three-point range in the game, making 10-of-21, and the Bears bounced back with Clark scoring the next eight points for the Bears, including threes at 5:46 and 4:46 to make it a six-point contest (74-68). After BSU drew within four, Cole buried a key three-pointer with 2:17 left to push the lead back to seven at 79-72.
 
Gibson hit two from the line with 1:57 left and a three-point play in the paint by Murphy cut the deficit to two, 79-77, with 1:29 left. Clark missed his next three and after Joseph made just one of four foul shots, the Knights stayed in front when Clark too missed a pair of shots from the line with 30 seconds to play. Joseph made the back end of two shots with 27 seconds to go (81-77) and after Murphy made it a one-point game with a triple with 20 seconds remaining, Cole was fouled and calmly sank two from the line with 17 seconds on the clock for an 83-80 cushion. After Clark hit his next two free throws, Roberson countered with two made foul shots with 10 seconds left for an 85-82 edge and BSU's late layup was too little, too late.
 
QUOTES:
NJCU head coach Marc Brown (eighth season)
 On NJCU's effort: "It was a good first half. We executed well offensively and shot well from the free throw line and out-rebounded them. We lost focus in the second half especially defensively. We gave them some easy shots and they hit some threes to get back in the game. We committed way too many fouls. They slowed the game down and they were on the line a lot in the second half. But we finished it out and got the win and that's what's most important."
 
On David Cole's comeback: "He shot well. He hit some big threes in the second half. He's a guy who worked hard to get back and deserves everything that's coming his way. Drew Marley also played really well, even defensively. I'm expecting a big year from Dave and Drew."
 
On the challenge of facing Franklin & Marshall: "F&M is big and they're home. It will be a tough challenge to beat them in their own gym."
 
OF NOTE:

• First-ever meeting between NJCU and Bridgewater State.
• NJCU was opening 82^nd season of men's basketball
• Effort was David Cole's fifth career game of 10+ points. Previous career high was 13 at Ramapo (November 23, 2013).
• Drew Marley had his ninth career game of 10+ points. He was one shy of his career high of 16 (vs. TCNJ, January 12, 2013).
• Khalid Muhammad has 770 career points. He scored in double figures for the 43rd time in 56 career games.
• NJCU received 12 points in the D3hoops.com preseason Top 25 poll; equivalent to a No. 42 national listing.
• NJCU was playing a game in Lancaster, Pa. for the first time since losing to then #5 Amherst College in the 2004 NCAA Sweet 16, 92-74, on March 12, 2004.
• NJCU is 1-3 all-time in games played in F&M's gym in Lancaster, Pa. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
NJCU will face Franklin and Marshall in the championship game of the tournament at 3 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at NJCUGothicKnights.com. It will be the first meeting between the schools in almost 22 years. The Diplomats lead the all-time series, 2-0. They first met in the NCAA Regional Finals (Elite 8) in March, 1979, with F&M winning, 81-72. F&M also won, 81-56 in a tournament in Lancaster on January 5, 1993.