JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University had its eyes on a huge upset before Osprey freshman forward Marcus Harmon (Whitesboro, NJ/Middle Township) sank a short driving jumper in the lane with 2.4 seconds left as No. 12 ranked Richard Stockton College survived the Gothic Knights, 58-56, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference contest on January 7 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.

NJCU (3-9, 1-5 NJAC) led by eight at halftime and never trailed in the second half until Stockton gained possession in a tied game after a shot clock violation with 24.8 seconds to play. After each team called a full timeout, Harmon's driving 6-footer went down. NJCU pushed the ball the length of the floor and junior redshirt shooting guard David Cole (Avenel, NJ/Colonia) had just enough time for a quick catch and release three-point shot in front of his own bench on the left sideline that rolled off the rim as time expired.

Stockton, ranked No. 12 in the January 5 D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, was coming off its only loss of the season on Sunday, and hung on to improve to 12-1 overall and 6-0 atop the NJAC standings.

NJCU, which took the lead with 6:15 to play in the opening half, led the Ospreys 35-27 at the half—Stockton's second largest halftime deficit this season.

The Knights led for nearly the entire second half but could never quite gain a lead or more than two possessions at any point after the opening minute of the period and Stockton finally tied is on a tip-in by preseason Second-Team All-American Josh Blamon (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) with 6:27 to play, for a 51-51 score.

Two free throws by senior power forward Drew Marley (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) and a three-pointer by senior shooting guard Jamall McDaniel (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) in front of his bench off a nice feed from senior point guard Justin Harte (Irvington, NJ/Irvington) pushed the edge to 56-51 with 4:07 to play.

But NJCU, which shot 25 percent in the second half (7-28) after a solid effort in the opening half (.414, 12-29), did not score again—missing its final five shots of the night—and hindered any chance to push the lead further by shooting 9-of-19 from the foul line in the game (.474). Stockton hit 8-of-10 from the line in the win.
 

NJCU missed a field goal try with 3:23 to play and after a foul, Cole couldn't hit on a 1-and-1 try. Blamon came down the floor and hit an NBA range three with 3:14 left. After a turnover, senior forward Anthony Woodard (Atlantic City, NJ/Atlantic City) tied the game for a second time in the period, converting a layup with 2:39 to go for a 56-56 equalizer. NJCU missed its next two shots and after regaining possession off a Stockton 10-second violation missed a three attempt. A subsequent Stockton turnover gave the Knights yet another chance but senior point guard Jourdan Roberson (Brooklyn, NY/University (Newark)) couldn't hit a contested jumper with the shot clock winding down, resulting in Stockton's final possession.

Blamon finished with a game-high 16 points for the Ospreys, making 7-of-11 attempts (2-3 3FG) with seven rebounds and two assists and Harmon's winning shot gave him a double-double of 10 points (3-10 FG), 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks.

For the first time in almost five years, NJCU did not have a player in double figures but nine men did produce points and seven had at least five points. Junior shooting guard Khalid Muhammad (Orange, NJ/Orange) was the top Knight in the points column with nine (3-8 FG) and senior center Eddie Brown (Newark, NJ/Newark East Side) collected eight points (3-7 FG), eight rebounds and three blocks. Cole also scored eight (3-7 FG), making a pair of threes.

Also for Stockton, Woodard had 10 rebounds and six points. Junior guard Armin Cane (Pleasantville, NJ/Pleasantville) and freshman guard Zavin Johnson (Trenton, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro South) each finished with eight points.

Stockton led by as many as six points five minutes into the game before NJCU tied it with a pair of threes (16-16) and pulled ahead on a Harte three with 9:55 left in the opening half. Johnson answered with a three for Stockton and the lead moved back to 25-21 before the Knights scored the next nine points to claim a 30-25 margin. Cole and Muhammad both had key baskets during that initial run. Brown scored inside for a 32-27 lead and Roberson drained a three with 35 seconds left in the first half to give the hosts the eight-point cushion at the break, 35-27.

OF NOTE:

• Series: 76th meeting. NJCU leads all-time series, 42-34. Stockton has won the last four matchups.
• Stockton's other largest halftime deficit was 44-20 in a 71-63 loss at Franklin & Marshall on January 4.
• The last time NJCU did not have a single player score in double figures was February 6, 2010 in a loss at Rutgers-Newark (57-39) when Walik Albright was the top scorer with eight points.
• Leading scorer Neville Joseph finished with a season-low seven points. It was only the second time in 10 games he didn't score in double figures.

WHAT'S NEXT?:
NJCU heads to Ewing, NJ on Saturday, January 10 for a 3 p.m. matchup with The College of New Jersey (6-6, 2-4 NJAC). It's a key game for the Knights. Despite being 1-5 in the league, tied with Kean and Montclair State for the eighth through 10th spots in the standings, all three schools are just a game behind TCNJ and Rutgers-Camden in the standings with the top six clubs qualifying for the NJAC Tournament in February after an 18-game conference slate. NJCU won the last meeting, 66-53, on February 15, 2014 in Jersey City. It will be the 133rd meeting during the conference era. Since 1955-56, NJCU leads the series, 71-41, and has won five of the last six meetings.

—www.njcugothicknights.com—