GLASSBORO, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University junior shooting guard Jalen Harris (Brandywine, MD/Gwynn Park (Md.)) netted two of his career-high 27 points from the line with 1.3 seconds remaining to break the 10th tie of the game and the Gothic Knights overcame a 13-point second half deficit on the road for its fifth consecutive victory as NJCU edged Rowan University, 87-85, on December 5 at Esby Gymnasium.
 
NJCU upped its mark to 5-2 and remains unbeaten in the New Jersey Athletic Conference at 3-0. The Knights are tied for first place in the conference with Ramapo College; those schools meet on December 9. NJCU is enjoying its longest winning streak since opening the 2013-14 season at 5-0. Rowan dropped to 2-7 (0-3 NJAC).
 
Harris exceeded 20 points for the third time in his first seven games as a Gothic Knight and scored in double figures for the sixth outing and senior power forward Chinwe Wosu (Jersey City, NJ/University Academy Charter) produced a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds—his third double-double and a career-scoring high—to power the Knights on the road.
 
Harris was 8-of-13 from the field and an electric 5-of-8 from three-point distance—while burying all six foul shots he attempted, including the two game-winners. He dished four assists in 37 minutes. He scored 16 in the second half (4-6 FG, 2-3 3FG, 6-6 FT).

 

Wosu, the NJAC's field goal percentage leader, shot 7-of-11 from the field and 8-of-10 from the line and reached the 20-point plateau for the second time and double figures for the sixth while grabbing seven of his 12 caroms on the defensive side. He added three assists in 34 minutes. He had 13 points in the second half.
 
Freshman power forward Yuri Brutus (Roselle Park, NJ/Roselle Park) chalked up his second career-high performance of the week, scoring 16 (6-9 FG), including 14 (5-7 FG) in the second half.  Junior point guard Ata Robinson (Newark, NJ/East Side) distributed seven assists with three steals
 
Rowan, which led for 28:15 of the contest until freshman small forward James Julius (Linden, NJ/Linden) buried a three with 5:32 to go in the second half, was led by Shawn Wilson who scored a game-high 28 points in 30 minutes with eight rebounds and three assists, shooting 9-of-17 overall (2-5 3FG) and 8-of-10 from the line.
 
The Profs hit 10 threes (10-22, .455), led by Rob DePersia, who was 4-of-5 from that distance (5-8 FG) and had 17 points and three assists. Kris O'Connor added 14 points (6-11 FG, 2-4 3FG). TJ Booth (nine points) and Chris Gross (eight points) also contributed.

Key Moments:
In the first half, NJCU held an early 7-2 lead before Rowan bounced back to tie it at 13-13 and the end of a 9-0 run, owned an 18-13 margin after a three by DePersia. A jumper by Gross and two foul shots and a layup by Booth gave Rowan a 13-point cushion (34-21) with 5:40 to go in the period and the Profs went to the half ahead by 10, 42-32.
 
Rowan pushed the lead back to 13 early in the second half on a three by DePersia and he hit another triple with 16:16 to play to maintain a 13-point, 54-41 advantage.
 
NJCU roared back, using a 12-0 run to pull within one (54-53, 13:26) after Brutus converted a three-point play and Harris buried a trey.
 
Rowan worked its lead back to eight when Gross hit a three with 11:20 to play (65-57) and that was the margin (67-59) with 9:18 remaining, before NJCU slowly chopped away at the deficit. Brutus scored eight of the next 10 points for the Knights and his offensive rebound and tip-in tied it at 71-71 with 5:56 on the clock. After a layup by Wilson gave the Profs back the lead, Julius (6 points, 2-3 3FG) hit a three to give NJCU its first lead since the 14:11 mark of the first half.
 

The clubs both shot well from the line and saw the game tied at 74-74, 75-75, 76-76 and 78-78 on the next possessions. Harris scored his 24th and 25th points from the line with 2:36 to play to put NJCU back on top (80-79) and freshman point guard Keshawn Alexander (Orange, NJ/Orange) picked off Wilson for a steal and fast break layup with 2:08 to go. Wilson answered with a three from the left corner to tie it at 82-82 with 1:55 to play—the ninth tie of the outing.
 
Wosu was fouled on the next possession and hit his first free throw for a one-point lead and a bad pass—Rowan's 20th turnover—gave NJCU the ball back. With 56 seconds left, Wosu found Brutus underneath with a great feed in the lane for an 85-82 edge before Wilson hit two foul shots with 43 seconds to go, making it 85-84. The Knights committed an offensive foul on the next trip down the floor. Wilson went to the line with a chance to put the hosts on top. He missed the first but tied it with the second. But after an NJCU timeout, Harris drove to the rim, spun, and drew contact, sending him to the line where he won it for NJCU.   
 
#KnightNotes:

• 117th known meeting. Rowan has a slight 59-58 lead in the all-time leads the all-time series.
• Jalen Harris is now averaging 18.6 points per game in his first year as a Gothic Knight. He averaged just 3.8 points in 11 games as a reserve for Albright College last season.
• Harris' 27 points are one more than the 26 he scored in his NJCU debut vs. then #19 Franklin & Marshall on November 20.
• Yuri Brutus had a career high for the second time this week; he scored 15 against William Paterson on December 2.

• Senior small forward Khalid Muhammad (Orange, NJ/Orange) returned after missing the last two games with an injury. He scored three points and now has 1,063 in his career.
• For the seventh consecutive game, NJCU, which ranks third nationally in forced turnovers, coerced an opponent into 20 or more giveaways as Rowan committed 20 in the game.

What's Next?:
In a battle for sole possession of first place in the NJAC heading into the holiday break, NJCU hosts Ramapo on Wednesday, December 9 at 8 p.m. at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court). It will be the 87th meeting in an all-time series NJCU leads, 64-22. The teams split last year's series with each winning on its home floor; NJCU routed Ramapo, 73-54, in the last meeting on February 4, 2015 in Jersey City. Follow live stats (http://sidearmstats.com/njcu/mbball/) or live video (https://www.youtube.com/user/NJCUGothicKnights/live).