GLASSBORO, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Several times during an up-and-down 2014-15 season, the New Jersey City University men's basketball team had a big first-half lead, only to see it evaporate in the waning moments of the second period. With Rowan University seeking its second come-from-behind win over the Gothic Knights this season on January 31, NJCU rewrote the script and came up with a different ending that may have saved its hopes of qualifying for the New Jersey Athletic Conference tournament.
 
NJCU (7-11, 5-7 NJAC), playing its first game in a weather-battered week, led 39-25 at halftime only to see Rowan University (12-8, 6-7 NJAC) battle back to draw within one point on three separate occasions in the final five minutes. But unlike the December 6 meeting between the clubs where NJCU led 19-2 only to see Rowan shoot 70 percent in the second half in a four-point win (73-69), the Gothic Knights weathered the storm.
 Junior shooting guard Khalid Muhammad (Orange, NJ/Orange) and senior small forward Neville Joseph (Newark, NJ/West Side) each hitting key shots the first two times Rowan drew within one and junior redshirt shooting guard David Cole (Avenel, NJ/Colonia) buried a pair of foul shots with two seconds remaining before Muhammad blocked a potential game-tying three by the Profs as time expired.
 
Joseph scored a game-high 18 points for NJCU (7-20 FG, 2-5 3FG) with seven rebounds as NJCU pulled within a half game of both Rowan and Ramapo College for one of the two final berths in the NJAC Tournament with six league games remaining, including a makeup with William Paterson University.
 
Muhammad had nine points (4-7 FG) and three steals while freshman guard Joseph Kelley (Newark, NJ/University) chipped in eight points (3-6 FG).
 
Ike Robinson was Rowan's top player with a double-double effort of 17 points (6-19 FG), 12 boards, three steals and two blocks. Chris Gross had nine points (3-3 FG) and eight rebounds.
 
NJCU hit nearly twice as many shots as Rowan in the opening 20 minutes shooting 15-of-33 (.455) versus the Profs' 8-of-22 (.364). NJCU's offense struggled in the second half, making just six shots (6-20, .300).
 
In the first half Rowan had the early advantage, opening a seven-point lead (13-6) after a Mike Simpson three before NJCU battled back and moved ahead, 17-15, midway through the half on a three-pointer by senior point guard Justin Harte (Irvington, NJ/Irvington). After Rowan tied it at 19-19, NJCU uncorked a 12-4 run.
 
Harte, who scored six points in six minutes in the game and hit both threes he attempted, put NJCU in front for good (22-19) when he buried a three with 8:11 left in the half and Joseph, who had 13 points in the opening period, scored twice during the run, including a layup off a feed from freshman point guard Shaquan Worthy (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Central) with 5:05 to go that made it 31-23. After a Rowan basket, NJCU scored the final eight points of the period, including a jumper by Muhammad and a triple by Joseph, as the Knights gained a 14-point, 39-25 advantage going into the intermission.
 
A double-digit lead to open the half began to dwindle. Rowan drew within three points (45-42) with 10:11 remaining before Joseph hit a three. When Robinson hit a three with 6:02 to play and TJ Booth sank the back end of two foul shots with 4:41 to go, the lead was just one (50-49). Muhammad hit a jumper with 3:57 to go before Gross cleaned up a Robinson miss with a layup that made it 52-51 with 3:19 left.
 

With 2:58 remaining, Kelley found Joseph for a key basket and Kelley scored inside with 2:07 to go to push the lead to five (56-51). Gross hit a jumper with 1:53 to go and after the clubs traded three missed shots, Daniel Waynick made it a one-point game with a jumper with 25 seconds remaining (56-55). Robinson missed a three with seven seconds left and on the ensuing inbounds, Cole was sent to line and drained both attempts, finishing 4-for-4 from the stripe in the game, to give NJCU a three-point safety net. Robinson caught a long pass after the foul shots but his turn-around three attempt was blocked cleanly by Muhammad.
 
QUOTES:
NJCU head coach Marc Brown (eighth season)
On the result: "In the second half we didn't execute as well and they [Rowan] stayed in a zone the whole game. We were able to get the stops when we needed them and that was key to the game. Our zone defense forced them into some bad shots."
 
On the play of his young guards: Shaquan Worthy did an unbelievable job running the team and got guys real easy shots but he didn't play much in the second half [with an injury]. JoJo Kelley played well. He can create his own shot. Kelley did great job at the end of the game at the point. He's hard to defend. There were a couple of buckets he created for other guys, including finding Neville [for a layup with 2:58 remaining] with a great opening pass. He handled the pressure well despite being a freshman. He's really coming into his own."
 
OF NOTE:

• Series: 116th known meeting. Rowan leads known series, 59-57.
• Neville Joseph scored in double figures for the 13th time in 16 games in his only season at NJCU.
• Khalid Muhammad now has 953 career points.
• After scoring a career-high 27 points last weekend against Kean in NJCU's last game, Jourdan Roberson only attempted one field goal in the win. He had four points.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
Weather permitting, on Monday, February 2 NJCU will make-up a postponed NJAC home game against No. 25 ranked William Paterson University at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center in Jersey City at 8 p.m. The Pioneers (16-3, 10-2 NJAC) are a half game out of first place in the league and had an 11-game winning streak snapped on January 31 in a 61-57 loss to No. 13 Stockton. In the first meeting on December 3 in Wayne, the clubs were tied 34-34 at the half but NJCU shot 22.2 percent in the second half. Meanwhile, the Pioneers shot 52.9 percent in the period, and utilized a 13-0 momentum-seizing run to chalk up a 65-52 decision.
 
Series: 144th known meeting. NJCU leads the all-time series, 76-67.