For Starters
In an important early season New Jersey Athletic Conference matchup between two teams expected to compete for the league title, NJCU, picked fourth in the preseason poll, meets William Paterson, selected third. NJCU has won three straight games since opening the year with losses to two opponents currently ranked in Top 25—Brooklyn (24^th) and Franklin & Marshall (20^th).
 
#GothicRewind—NJCU Puts Away York, 74-70
On Monday night, York (NY) hit a game-tying three with 3:36 to play before junior shooting guard Jalen Harris (Brandywine, MD/Gwynn Park (Md.)) answered 12 seconds later, drilling a go-ahead triple from the right side for three of his 23 points and NJCU's defense got several key stops before the Gothic Knights iced it from the line in a 74-70 home-opening non-conference win.
 
Harris netted his second 20-point performance in an NJCU uniform as the transfer tallied 16 of his 23 in the second half. He knocked down three three-pointers, was 6-of-7 from the line and chipped in four steals and three assists. Senior power forward Chinwe Wosu (Jersey City, NJ/University Academy Charter) produced another massive double-double for the Knights—his second of the season and his career—scoring 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting with 14 rebounds—seven offensive and seven defensive grabs. He had three blocks, two assists and two steals in 32 minutes. He scored 12 in the first half and had one more rebound than his previous career high.
 
NJCU bouncing back from a 20-10 first half deficit that saw York use a 20-3 outburst to counter the Knights scoring the first seven points of the game.
 
Wosu...Then and Now
In 23 games during 2013-14 season, Chinwe Wosu had 42 points, 48 rebounds, 10 steals, 9 assists and 7 blocks. In just five games this season, Wosu has 81 points, 45 rebounds, 12 steals, 11 assists and 6 blocks.
 
Wosu has scored in double figures in all five games and is averaging 16.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.4 steals, 2.2 assists and 1.2 blocks per game.
 
Wosu, playing collegiate basketball for the first time in two seasons, is enjoying a rebirth of remarkable proportions. At .680 (34-50), Wosu leads the NJAC in field goal percentage by a huge margin (Rutgers-Newark's David Azoroh is at .596). He is also the NJAC leader in offensive rebounding at 4.2 per game. The next closest is averaging 3.0.
 
Wosu also ranks second in the conference in rebounding, third in steals, fourth in blocked shots, seventh in defensive rebounds (4/8 per game), and ninth in scoring. He lists in the Top 10 in seven categories. He is currently ranked 10th nationally in field goal percentage.
 
Harris is All-Right
Junior transfer shooting guard Jalen Harris (Brandywine, MD/Gwynn Park (Md.)) didn't have a chance to break out when he attended Albright but he has certainly emerged as a scoring presence in his first year playing for the Gothic Knights. He has scored in double figures in four of five games and twice had 23 or more.
 
He leads the conference in minutes played at 36.8 minutes per game. He is averaging 17.0 points per game with a high of 26 and ranks eighth in the NJAC in scoring average. He is also eighth in three-pointers made (1.8 per game) and blocked shots (0.8 per game), 11th in steals (1.8 per game), and 15th in free throw percentage (.788).
 
NJCU as a Team
NJCU is forcing turnovers at an incredible pace. The Knights currently rank third nationally in turnovers forced at 24.2 per game and list 12th in Division III in turnover margin (+8.00). NJCU leads the NJAC in both categories. The Knights also leads the conference in steals (10.6 per game).
 
Despite being smaller than in past seasons, NJCU is third in the league in rebounding margin (+2.4), rebounding defense (34.8), defensive rebounding percentage (.737) and offensive rebounding percentage (.356). Thru five games, NJCU has a -0.2 scoring margin.
 
NJCU's opponents have committed 20 or more turnovers in every game this season. NJCU has not won an opening tip in the first five games of the season.
 
Climbing the List
Senior small forward Khalid Muhammad (Orange, NJ/Orange) has been battling injuries early this year but he is still climbing the all-time scoring list for NJCU. The 1,000-point scorer has 1,060 career points and is 24th in school history. Next on the list: George Thomas in 23rd with 1,069 points (1999-03) and Dwayne West (1982-86) in 22nd with 1,075 points. Both players are NJCU Hall of Famers; West is the older brother of NBA star David West. In his career, Muhammad has scored in double figures 60 times and produced 20 or more points in nine contests.
 
Pioneer Points

• William Paterson has only two blemishes on its record—an 80-66 loss at current #24 ranked Brooklyn and a forfeit loss against Ramapo. Brian Chapman, who has been with the program for 21 years, is currently WP's acting head coach.
• WP has taken home two of the first three NJAC Player of the Week awards of the 2015-16 campaign. James McLane was the week one winner while Terik Bridgeman took home week two honors. Bridgeman also won the award twice last year when he was a First-Team All-NJAC selection.
• Bridgeman is enjoying a fine start to the season. He has produced 19.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists while blocking 10 shots. He is shooting .536 from the field and .727 from the line. He leads the NJAC in blocks (2.0 per game), is second in scoring, fourth in defensive rebounding (5.2/game), seventh in rebounding and field goal percentage and eighth in minutes (31.6).
• Senior Bright Mensah, the 2014-15 NJAC Defensive Player of the Year, has contributed 15.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists with 2.2 steals per game. He is third in the league in steals, ninth in rebounding and 13th in scoring.
• James McLane, who like Bridgeman and Mensah has started all five games played, has contributed 13.0 points and 7.0 rebounds.
• William Paterson is struggling from the line as a team, making just 61.2 percent (ninth in the NJAC). The Pioneers continue to play good defense, ranking third in field goal percentage defense (.409) and blocks (3.4 per game). WP is also third in the league in turnover margin (+2.80), averaging 14.0 while gaining 16.8. WP has gone nine straight games played without committing 20 turnovers (last: Rowan, February 18, 2015, 20 turnovers).