CENTER VALLEY, Pa. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Trailing by six at halftime, the New Jersey City University men's basketball team had a complete second half reversal, shooting 53.3 percent in the period while outscoring Elizabethtown College, 44-20, as the Gothic Knights rallied past the Blue Jays, 75-57, in the consolation game of the DeSales Holiday Tournament presented by OAA on January 4.

Following the lowest shooting percentage in recent program history in an opening round loss, the Knights shot just 30.3 percent in the first 20 minutes (10-33) before posting its most accurate half of basketball this season, converting 16-of-30 from the field highlighted by 5-for-10 three-point shooting (.500) that established three separate decisive scoring runs.

NJCU dominated the glass, outrebounding the Blue Jays, 51-25, including a staggering 22-4 on the offensive boards. That was vital in the outcome as NJCU, which led for only 11:06 of game time, posted an 18-2 differential in second chance points.
 

NJCU (3-8) snapped a six-game losing streak by finishing with the best shooting percentage since November 19, shooting 41.3 percent for the game (26-63) with eight threes. Elizabethtown (4-7), shot 46.7 percent in the first half (14-30) before the NJCU defense clamped down, limiting the Blue Jays to 6-of-19 in the second stanza (.316).

Senior small forward Neville Joseph (Newark, NJ/West Side) was named to the All-Tournament Team—his second such honor of the season—after finishing with a combined 34 points in two games. He matched his NJCU career high with a game-best 19 points (6-13 FG, 2-3 3FG, 5-6 FT), adding seven rebounds in 30 minutes. He scored 14 in the second half when he was 5-for-9 and sank both threes he attempted.

Senior center Eddie Brown (Newark, NJ/Newark East Side) hauled in a game-high 12 rebounds and shot 3-of-6 from the floor (seven points). Junior redshirt shooting guard David Cole (Avenel, NJ/Colonia) came off the bench to post his third double-digit scoring effort of the season, hitting for 10 points in 19 minutes (4-7 FG), knocking down both three-pointers he attempted.

Freshman shooting guard Joseph Kelley (Newark, NJ/University), who had scored just 15 points in the first nine games of his collegiate career, had a breakout game scoring all of his career high 10 points (3-7 FG, 4-6 FT) in 14 second half reserve minutes.

Also for NJCU, senior point guard Jourdan Roberson (Brooklyn, NY/University (Newark) provided nine points (3-8 FG), making 3-of-7 three-point attempts with seven rebounds.

For E-Town, Joe Bodnar had 15 points (5-12 FG, 4-7 3FG) and five boards and Phil Wenger, who also earned All-Tournament Team honors, had 11 points (3-6 FG) and three assists. Matt Lapkowicz collected 10 points (4-6 FG, 2-2 3FG).
 In the first meeting between the schools in more than 18 years, E-Town scored eight straight points in a close game early on to open a 13-6 lead 3:35 into the game. After NJCU whittled the lead to one (17-16), pushed the margin back to nine as Lapkowicz scored eight consecutive points for the Blue Jays, including a pair of threes, as the lead reached 25-16 nine minutes into the game. The Knights worked the lead down to one (31-30, 3:29) before the Jays went to the break up six and Wenger's three-point play 90 seconds into the second half matched E-Town's largest lead (40-31).

Joseph and Bodnar traded threes five minutes into the second half and after a technical foul on the Gothic Knight bench, E-Town led by six (46-40) with 13:55 to play.

The tech ultimately had the desired effect, sparking NJCU to a game-swaying 11-0 run. Baskets by junior shooting guard Khalid Muhammad (Orange, NJ/Orange) and Joseph and a fast break dunk by Brown—his first of the season—off a Muhammad steal put NJCU back in front for the first time since it was 6-5 early in the game, and a layup by Muhammad and two Kelley foul shots made it a 51-46 contest with 9:09 to play. E-Town cut the deficit to one (51-50) with 7:21 left.

NJCU countered again with nine straight points. Cole drilled a three, Kelley picked off a pass and threw down his first career dunk, and senior power forward Drew Marley (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) turned an offensive rebound into a third-chance basket with 5:53 left. Kelley hit a jumper with 5:22 to go for a 60-51 advantage.

After E-Town hit a three-point play with 5:10 left, NJCU dismantled the Blue Jays, capping the game by scoring 15 of the final 18 points.  Roberson came down the floor and buried a triple for a 63-54 cushion, two foul shots by Kelley pushed the lead into double figures for the first time and Joseph's layup gave the Knights a 12-point edge before late threes by Roberson and Joseph sealed it.

 OF NOTE:

• Series: Second meeting. Series even, 1-1. The only other meeting was November 22, 1996—also on a neutral court at the Binghamton University Tournament in Binghamton, N.Y., E-town edged then Jersey City State College, 88-86.
• NJCU's .413 shooting percentage was the third best of the season and highest since shooting .423 on November 19 in a loss to Brooklyn.
• NJCU's previous high period for field goal percentage was 50.0 percent (12-24) in the first half against Bridgewater State on November 15.
• NJCU snapped the longest losing streak since losing six straight from January 16 thru January 30, 1993.
• Neville Joseph has scored in double figures in eight of nine games in his only season at NJCU.
• Joseph previously scored 19 in a loss to Albertus Magnus on December 13, taking five more shots (18 vs. 13).
• David Cole scored in double figures for the third time this season and had his seventh career game of 10+ points.  
• Eddie Brown reached 10+ rebounds for the second time in his two-year NJCU career.
• The dunks by Brown and Kelley were only the second and third of the season for NJCU and the first since Eddie Harris had one with 18 seconds left in an 88-73 loss to Brooklyn on November 19.
• McDaniel College, which defeated NJCU 66-52 in the first round of the tournament, claimed the weekend's championship with a 77-73 win over host DeSales in overtime. Both DeSales games went to OT in the tournament.

WHAT'S NEXT?
NJCU returns home on Wednesday, January 7 at 8 p.m. to face a stiff test from New Jersey Athletic Conference rival Richard Stockton College, currently ranked No. 4 in Division III by D3hoops.com. Stockton (11-1) suffered its first loss of the season after an 11-0 start against host Franklin & Marshall on January 4, 71-63, in another tournament final. NJCU also lost to F&M in a tip-off tournament final on November 16, 63-57.

Stockton won the last meeting on February 6, 2014 in Galloway, NJ, 65-49, and swept the 2013-14 season series. It will be the 76th meeting between the schools. Stockton has won the last three meetings. NJCU leads the all-time series, 42-33.