Gothic Knight Insights: Interview with Jalen Harris and Yuri Brutus

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University led by 17 in the first half before William Paterson University rallied and took a brief lead midway through the second period. But in a huge, early-season statement from a young Gothic Knight men's basketball team, it didn't take NJCU long to respond. The Knights countered William Paterson's comeback bid with a 10-0 run of its own and with contributions from its bench put away the Pioneers, 70-64, in New Jersey Athletic Conference action on December 2 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court).
 
NJCU improved to 4-2 and 2-0 in the NJAC by winning for the fourth consecutive game after dropping two contests against teams currently ranked in the D3hoops.com Top 25 to open the year. Meanwhile, in a match-up of two schools expected to challenge for the NJAC title this year, NJCU snapped the Pioneers' five-game winning streak in the series; WP dropped to 4-3 (0-2 NJAC). NJCU is tied for first place in the conference with Ramapo (5-2, 2-0 NJAC).
 
Junior shooting guard Jalen Harris (Brandywine, MD/Gwynn Park (Md.)) scored in double figures for fifth time as he produced 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting with a pair of threes (2-4) and 6-of-8 foul shooting in 38 minutes. He grabbed eight rebounds.
 
Meanwhile, freshman power forward Yuri Brutus (Roselle Park, NJ/Roselle Park) came off the bench to spark a decisive 34-12 differential in bench scoring for NJCU. He had never scored more than eight points or grabbed better than four boards in his first five collegiate games but excelled on a big conference stage, registering his first career double-double with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting and a game-high 11 rebounds (six defensive).
 
For the sixth consecutive game, NJCU, which ranks third nationally in forced turnovers, coerced an opponent into 20 or more giveaways as WP committed 21 in the game—the first time in a span of 10 games that the Pioneers have coughed it up 20+ times.

Freshman point guard Keshawn Alexander (Orange, NJ/Orange) came off the bench to provide a career-high eight points in seven minutes—a go-ahead three-pointer and perfect 5-for-5 foul shooting. Senior power forward Chinwe Wosu (Jersey City, NJ/University Academy Charter) was in foul trouble much of the game but did finish with seven points and six rebounds in 21 minutes.
 
Reigning NJAC Defensive Player of the Year Bright Mensah (Hackensack, NJ/Hackensack) finished with a game-high 19 points (5-13 FG; 3-9 3FG), shot 6-of-7 from the line and had a well-rounded line of seven rebounds, six steals and five assists.
 
Senior guard Terik Bridgeman (Harlem, NY/Nia Prep) finished with 15 points (6-11 FG; 2-3 3 FG), eight rebounds and five blocks. Junior forward Richy Espinal (Ridgefield Park, NJ/Ridgefield Park) chipped in 13 points (6-11 FG), nine rebounds and four steals.
 
Down 5-0, NJCU seemingly took control of the game early in the first half with a 16-0 run that saw the Knights claim a 16-5 margin when junior point guard Ata Robinson (Newark, NJ/East Side), who had seven points and six rebounds, drilled a three. Two foul shots by Alexander pushed the margin to 15 (24-9) and NJCU held a 16-point lead (28-12) with 8:33 to play. NJCU was aided by WP committing eight turnovers in the first seven minutes.
 
WP scored the next seven to close within single digits when junior guard Zach Frick (Sparta, NJ/Sparta) hit a three to make it 28-19. A triple by Harris followed by his two foul shots made it 38-23 and NJCU boasted its largest lead with 3:59 to go when Brutus grabbed an offensive rebound and his putback made it a 17-point, 40-23 margin 3:59 before the half.
 
But the Pioneers would bounce back with a 17-4 run that made it a four-point game (44-40) at the break. Three three-pointers did much of the work as Espinal hit one at 3:21 and Bridgeman knocked down triples with 2:23 and 1:43 to go to cut it to six (42-36). The Pioneers would draw within two (42-40).
 
NJCU pushed the lead back to eight (48-40) to open the second period but the Pioneers answered again—this time with an 10-0 spurt that saw the visitors tie the game with 14:20 to play when junior guard Galen Smith (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway Tech) scored inside and a fast-break layup by Bridgeman off a Mensah steal allowed WP to move in front, 50-48, with 13:44 to play.
 
The first lead for William Paterson since the 15:58 mark of the first half would be short-lived. Alexander came up big for NJCU—burying a three from the corner to regain the lead at 51-50 (13:10) and after a fast break bucket by Harris off an Alexander assist made it 53-50, Alexander was fouled on a three try with 10:42 left and calming knocked down all three shots.
 
A layup by Brutus capped the 10-0 run (9:56) and NJCU would extend the outburst to 15-2 overall as Harris canned a three from the right arc and Robinson scored on a driving baseline jumper with 7:28 left as the lead swelled to 11, 63-52.
 
While that should have been enough, the Pioneers wouldn't go quietly; Frick scored five straight including a three with 4:56 to play and Espinal cut it to four (63-59) with 4:16 to go. But Brutus scored on a pretty spin move in the lane and Harris picked off a pass at midcourt and went in on an uncontested fast-break layup to push the margin back to eight (67-59) and with the game still not sealed, Brutus grabbed a huge defensive rebound on a missed WP three with 27.9 left, then hit a foul shot to put the contest out of reach; Mensah hit a three at the buzzer to claim leading-scorer honors.
 
Quotable Knights:
 
Jalen Harris on the win: "It was a game of runs; we made our run and then they made theirs. Coach [Marc] Brown got on us and we fought back and got the win today."
 
Yuri Brutus on finishing the victory: "After being up 17 we started to relax as the game continued, but we pulled it off and finished as we stayed strong and together."
 
Yuri Brutus on his double-double: "Coach got on me after the previous game about the effort I was putting in and I took that to heart and came out today with a chip on my shoulder and ended up having a good game with 15 points and 11 rebounds."
 
Jalen Harris on giving up the 17-point first half lead: "Playing at home with that 17-point lead we got too comfortable and at halftime coach got on us and we used that as motivation to get back on top."
 
Yuri Brutus on giving up the 17-point first half lead: "After we got up 17 points we took our foot off the gas and they started to rally up and come back. Next thing you know it was a game and being home we needed to continue with the momentum like Coach Brown was telling us. We took a little break and that is what messed us up."
 
Jalen Harris on what the team needs to do to continue its success: "To continue, we cannot get too comfortable like we did today. We have to fight like it is our last game and keep listening to coach because he knows what he is doing."
 
Yuri Brutus on what the team needs to do to continue its success: "We need to stay together and keep working hard. Our team chemistry is something big for our team. We do everything together and we need to continue to do that so we can get even better."
 
#KnightNotes:

• 146th known meeting. NJCU leads all-time series, 77-69. It was NJCU's first win in the series since February 2, 2013 in Wayne (54-47).
• 1,000-point scorer Khalid Muhammad (1,060 career points) missed his second straight game with an injury.
• Chinwe Wosu missed scoring in double figures for the first time in six games.
• William Paterson entered the game having received 60 points in the November 30 D3hoops.com Top 25 poll—equivalent to a No. 29 national listing.

What's Next?:
NJCU faces Rowan University (2-6, 0-2 NJAC) in a conference game on Saturday, December 5 at 3 p.m. at Esby Gymnasium in Glassboro, NJ. The clubs split the 2014-15 season series with NJCU taking the last meeting in Glassboro, 58-55, on January 31, 2015. It will be the 117th known meeting in a series Rowan slightly leads, 59-57. Follow live stats (http://sidearmstats.com/rowan/mbball/).