Box Score NEWARK, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University trailed by a dozen early in the second half before rallying behind the play of junior point guard Ata Robinson (Newark, NJ/East Side) who canned a game-tying three-pointer with 3:11 left and hit four foul shots in the final seconds to seal it as NJCU opened its 2015-16 New Jersey Athletic Conference schedule with a 69-62 come-from-behind win over Rutgers-Newark on November 24 at the Golden Dome Arena.
 
Robinson scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the second half and finished the contest a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw stripe while dishing five assists and four steals in 25 minutes. He was 4-of-9 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point distance and is now 25-of-26 from the line—96.2 percent—in his first four games as a Gothic Knight.
 
NJCU (2-2, 1-0 NJAC) outscored Rutgers-Newark (2-2, 0-1 NJAC) 45-28 in the second half as the Gothic Knights shot 18-of-22 from the line (.818) in the period and 23-of-29 in the game (.714).
 
Down 60-57 with 4:21 to go, NJCU scored the next eight points and held RUN without a field goal until 14 seconds remained. Meanwhile, NJCU forced the Scarlet Raiders into three costly turnovers during that span and 25 in the game, which the Knights translated into a decisive 28-13 margin in points off giveaways.
 
Senior power forward Chinwe Wosu (Jersey City, NJ/University Academy Charter) continued to be remarkably efficient inside, shooting 7-of-10 from the field for 16 points with six rebounds, four steals and two assists. Freshman guard Tyler Caldwell (Jersey City, NJ/Snyder), who scored 11 points in his first three collegiate games, netted 12 with five rebounds in his second start.
 
David Azoroh led the Raiders with 19 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the line with eight rebounds and three blocks. John Snow had a double-double of 16 points (6-14 FG), 10 rebounds (eight defensive) and three assists but committed nine turnovers.
 
In a back-and-forth first half, RUN led 7-2, NJCU bounced back for a 12-11 lead, and the Raiders answered with the next eight points for a 19-12 margin with 11:38 to go in the period. The hosts would push the advantage into double figures and led by as many as 14 points with 2:06 to go in the half when Azoroh hit four straight foul shots. NJCU junior shooting guard Jalen Harris (Brandywine, MD/Gwynn Park (Md.)) came into the game averaging 18.7 points but only scored six—all in the final 67 seconds of the first half when he buried a three and made 3-of-4 from the line to trim RUN's lead which stood at 34-24 at the intermission.
 
A jumper by Azoroh early in the second half inched the RUN lead back to 12 (38-26, 18:42) before the Knights ignited the game with a 14-3 outburst. Robinson hit two foul shots and buried a three before his rebound fed Caldwell for a fast-break dunk that shaved the deficit to five (38-33, 16:30). An offensive rebound and tip-in by Wosu and a Robinson steal that fed Wosu for another fast break made it 41-37 and Caldwell drilled a three with 14:15 left to cap the 4:27 run.
 
Despite the spurt that made it a game, NJCU was not able to claim a lead until Robinson's three with 3:11 to go. Snow scored 10 in the second half and the Raiders were able to keep NJCU at arm's length, eventually leading by seven (54-47) with 6:34 to play. But Robinson sparked NJCU to another rally. His steal resulted in a layup and a three-point play with 5:00 left to make it a one-point game (56-55) and he hit two foul shots with 4:37 left to keep the deficit at one (58-57). Down 60-57 after a Snow basket, Robinson buried his eighth straight points, a three that evened it at 60-60.
 
Freshman forward Yuri Brutus (Roselle Park, NJ/Roselle Park)'s offensive carom and tip-in with 2:23 left gave NJCU the lead for good (62-60) and Wosu's basket with 24 seconds to go made it a five-point margin, 65-60. Robinson sank a pair of foul shots with 13 and four seconds showing to seal the win.
 
Quotable Knights:
 
Head Coach Marc Brown, 9th season, on the win: "They played hard. That's the one thing about this group—they don't quit. Khalid [senior small forward Khalid Muhammad] was re-injured and couldn't go more than 10 minutes and other guys stepped up. Down the stretch, Ata made a big three and made all his free throws. We hung around and stayed close towards the end and when you stay close anything can happen. Our press hurt them and our freshmen are growing up before our eyes, just getting more experience. It was a difficult start to the season with our schedule. I'm glad we got through this stretch with all tough games on the road. We're 2-2 but could easily be 3-1 or 4-0. So I'm happy with the result tonight and we have to keep it going. Ata is a real good free throw shooter and Chinwe has been the MVP of the team so far—he's a warrior."
 
#KnightNotes:

• NJCU leads all-time series, 61-17. NJCU snapped a three-game losing streak in the series.
• 1,000-point scorer Khalid Muhammad played 10 minutes but was re-injured. He scored four points and has 1,060 career points. He is 24th in school history. George Thomas is 23rd with 1,069 points (1999-03).
• Rutgers-Newark was 1-of-9 from three-point range (.111). NJCU was 4-of-19 (.211).

 
What's Next?:
After the Thanksgiving break, NJCU will play its 2015-16 home opener on Monday, November 30 at 7 p.m. when it hosts York College (NY) in a non-conference game on Coach Charlie Brown Court at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center. NJCU leads the all-time series, 6-2. NJCU won the last meeting on December 5, 2011 in Jamaica, NY, 76-70. Follow live stats (http://sidearmstats.com/njcu/mbball/) or live video (https://www.youtube.com/user/NJCUGothicKnights/live).