LANCASTER, PA (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University grabbed its only lead of a close, back-and-forth second half with 11:32 to go before host Franklin & Marshall College used a 10-0 run to reclaim control and the Diplomats defeated the Gothic Knights, 63-57, in the championship game of the of the Franklin & Marshall Rotary Tip-Off Tournament on November 16 at the Mayser Center.
 
Senior transfer Neville Joseph (Newark, NJ/West Side) earned All-Tournament Team distinction for the Knights (1-1) as his turn-around jumper from the baseline gave NJCU a short-lived lead. He averaged 13.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in the two-game opening weekend.
 
In the first meeting in nearly 22 years between two schools with a ton of NCAA history—a combined 41 NCAA Tournament appearances between the two sides with 23 for the Diplomats and 18 for NJCU—F&M (2-0) went to the line 39 times, making 25 of its chances (.643). NJCU was awarded just 21 free throws.
 
Joseph chalked up 15 points (5-12 FG) and eight rebounds in 25 minutes while senior center Eddie Brown (Newark, NJ/Newark East Side) tallied 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting with five rebounds and four blocks. Junior shooting guard Khalid Muhammad (Orange, NJ/Orange) contributed 11 points and three steals.
 
Morganville, NJ native Brandon Federici was the most notable Diplomat, scoring 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting, with 4-of-7 three-point accuracy. He finished with nine rebounds in 34 minutes.
 
Morgan Lee claimed Tournament Most Valuable Player honors, shooting 9-of-12 from the line to finish with 15 points and five rebounds. He had 38 points and 16 boards in two games. Cedric Moune also claimed All-Tournament Team honors with 11 points (7-9 FT), nine rebounds and five blocks in 37 minutes.
 
F&M scored the first seven points of the game and held an early 13-4 advantage but the nine-point spread was the hosts largest until the waning moments of the opening period. NJCU cut the deficit to three (21-18) with 3:15 left in the half until the Diplomats scored the next eight points, capped by a Jared Wright three, to claim an 11-point margin at 29-18. It was F&M's largest lead of the afternoon; the clubs went to the break at 29-19. The Diplomats led despite shooting just 23.1 percent (6-26) in the opening half; NJCU wasn't much more accurate (.259, 7-27).
 
NJCU made a game of it early in the second half, using a 10-2 spurt to draw within two (31-29) after a pair of Joseph foul shots; he scored six of the 10 during the run. The Knights kept it close and eventually tied the game with 12:30 to play as Joseph drew a defender to the lane, dished to the foul line before an extra pass found Muhammad on the left arc where he buried a three to tie it at 40-40. Joseph's turn-around jumper from the left baseline as the shot clock buzzer sounded put the Knights ahead for the only time, 42-41, with 11:32 to play.
 
The lead would last just 14 seconds. Lee hit two foul shots, Matthew Tate sank a three for a 46-42 lead then scored in transition after an NJCU miss for two more points and a 48-42 advantage. Federici, left wide open in the right corner, knocked down his 16^th point of the game—a three pointer that gave F&M a 51-42, nine-point cushion with 9:21 to play. With 6:42 to play Federici hit another three with a hand in his face for a 10-point margin and NJCU was held at arm's length the rest of the way. The Knights were able to draw within four points with 42 seconds left before F&M iced it from the line. The Diplomats shot 52.6 percent in the second half (10-19).

Franklin & Marshall Rotary Tip-Off All-Tournament Team
Player	School	Year	Position	Hometown
Kyle Gibson	Bridgewater State	JR	F	Franklin, MA
Neville Joseph	New Jersey City	SR	SF	Newark, NJ
Morgan Lee	Franklin & Marshall	SR	G	Brooklyn, NY
Cedric Moune	Franklin & Marshall	JR	F	Douala, Cameroon
Mike Resnick	Washington & Jefferson	SR	G	White Oak, PA
MVP: Morgan Lee, Franklin & Marshall

 

QUOTES:
NJCU head coach Marc Brown (eighth season)
On the result: "We didn't play well offensively. It's a shame because if we had a decent offensive game we would have won easily because we shut them down. Our guys played hard so I am proud of them. We knew it was going to be a big-time test to face a team with that kind of size but we held our own with them. We just didn't play well enough offensively."
 
On the offense: "We struggled from three-point range. We have to get Khalid Muhammad going. Jourdan [Roberson] didn't shoot well. We missed critical free throws towards the end. On the road against a team with that kind of history we had to go in and beat them and our offensive game cost us."
 
On the take away from the tournament: "We showed toughness that I now know we have. Eddie Brown really battled against their bigs. But they can bring 6-6, 6-7 guys off the bench; they're huge. We need to get some of our young guys going and get them to realize they're playing at a very high level of basketball for Division iii. We have to build on this. There's no room to rest because we have a good Brooklyn team coming in and they just took [William] Paterson to overtime [Lost, 95-88] at Paterson and they were picked second in our league. We have to get ready for Brooklyn."
 
OF NOTE:

• Franklin and Marshall leads the all-time series, 3-0.
• NJCU and F&M 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.
• NJCU is 1-4 all-time in games played in F&M's gym in Lancaster, Pa.
• Eddie Brown had his third career double-figure scoring effort, matching his career high of 11 (at Ramapo, November 23, 2013).
• Khalid Muhammad has 781 career points. He scored in double figures for the 44th time in 57 career games.
• NJCU received 12 points in the D3hoops.com preseason Top 25 poll; equivalent to a No. 42 national listing.
• Franklin & Marshall has six players at least 6-foot-6 in its lineup.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
NJCU will play its 2014-15 home opener on Wednesday, November 19 (7 p.m.) when it hosts Brooklyn College at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court). It'll be the first meeting between the clubs since a 70-68 overtime win for NJCU in Jersey City on January 23, 2012. NJCU trailed 59-52 before scoring the final seven points of regulation to force overtime then answered a six-point deficit in overtime with a 9-0 run. Since 1963, NJCU leads the all-time series, 14-4.