#GothicKnightInsights Interview with Marc Brown

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Senior small forward Khalid Muhammad (Orange, NJ/Orange) broke out with a 20-point, 14-rebound double-double and the New Jersey Athletic Conference-leading New Jersey City University men's basketball team knocked down a dozen three-pointers overall in an 88-81 NJAC win over Rowan University on January 30 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court).
 
NJCU (12-6, 10-2) won its third in a row and maintained a solid game lead in the NJAC standings while sweeping its third season series from a conference opponent so far—Rutgers-Newark, William Paterson and Rowan—with two-thirds of the league slate now complete. Rowan, chasing one of the final berths into next month's conference tournament, is 8-12 (5-8 NJAC) and had its two-game winning streak snuffed out.
 
The win was the 127th in the career of ninth-year head coach Marc Brown—moving him into sole possession of third place on the program's all-time victories list.
 
NJCU had a staggering 50-22 margin in rebounding, including 25-8 on the offensive glass where NJCU owned a 23-8 differential in second chance scoring. NJCU's reserves outscored the Profs' bench, 47-16.
 
Muhammad moved into 20th place in school history with 1,153 points, coming off the bench to score at least 20 points for the 10th time in his career—and reach double figures for a 63rd time—while posting his third collegiate double-double and his first against an NJAC opponent. Muhammad was 8-of-15 from the field with a season-best 20 points, a career-high 14 rebounds including nine offensively, three assists and three steals.
 
He was one of four Gothic Knights in double figures as three other first-year members of the program, including two freshmen, scored at least 15. Five different NJCU players hit a three-point shot in the win.
 Freshman small forward James Julius (Linden, NJ/Linden) was 4-of-9 from the field—all from three-point distance—and finished with 17 points (five rebounds) in 24 minutes. He was a solid 5-of-6 at the line.  
 
After a 20-point performance on Wednesday, freshman small forward James Frazier (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) scored 12 in the first half and netted 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 24 minutes. He was 5-of-10 from the floor including 3-of-6 from three-point range, and 4-of-5 at the line. Junior shooting guard Jalen Harris (Brandywine, MD/Gwynn Park (Md.)) tacked on 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting with a pair of threes and dished five assists. 
Rowan received a game-high 31 points on 10-of-17 shooting from freshman guard Nick DePersia (Cherry Hill, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial). He shot 7-of-13 from three-point territory in 38 minutes. His brother, freshman guard Rob DePersia (Cherry Hill, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial) delivered 12 assists in 37 minutes versus only three turnovers to help keep the Profs in the game until the latter stages of the second half.
 
The Profs also saw junior forward Shawn Wilson (Pleasantville, NJ/Pleasantville) collect 12 points (3-11 FG), seven steals, six rebounds and four assists. Senior forward Chris Gross (Cranford, NJ/Cherry Hill East) and junior guard Josh Borrelli (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) had 10 points apiece.
 
The game saw 14 lead changes and eight ties. Both teams shot well from the line. NJCU was 18-of-23 (.783). Rowan, which made 11 three-pointers (11-25, .440), was also 18-of-22 at the line (.818). The Profs stayed in the game by turning 24 NJCU giveaways into 33 points.

 

KEY MOMENTS:

• In a high-scoring first half, Julius drilled a three from the right sideline as Harris had earlier for a 14-13 lead. Muhammad hit a jumper on his first attempt of the game to tie it at 16-16 after a Rowan three-point play, Muhammad put NJCU up 18-16 when he grabbed a loose ball underneath for a layup in traffic. Frazier knocked down a three from the right arc (21-19). Nick DePersia hit a trey before Frazier answered as he buried another three from the right sideline (24-22).
• Muhammad sank a jumper in the lane (26-23). A Julius three from the right corner, the fifth of the period for NJCU, made it 31-26.  
• Rowan would regain the lead on a three from Nick DePersia (32-31) before adding a pair of fast-break baskets after consecutive NJCU turnovers to claim a 36-31 advantage. A turn-around jumper in the lane by Dan Brogan extended the lead to 38-31 and run to 12-0.
• A straightaway three by Muhammad snapped the skid. His steal and second chance tip in (38-36) came as NJCU's full-court press began frustrating Rowan. A slicing drive by Muhammad to find senior power forward Chinwe Wosu (Jersey City, NJ/University Academy Charter) on the low post tied it at 38-38.
• Shawn Wilson's three put Rowan back in front and two Nick DePersia foul shots made it 43-38. Julius buried a three from the right arc (43-41).
• With 1:35 left in the high-octane half, Harris picked off a pass and sprinted down court for a layup off the window and capped a three-point play for a 45-43 lead. Nick DePersia would give Rowan a 46-45 lead at halftime with a three-pointer in the final seconds of the period.
• The second half started as a continued see-saw battle. Down three, Frazier hit a floater in the lane (48-47) and Harris hit a three from right sideline for his team's eighth three, to tie it, 50-50. Nick DePersia answered with a three from his brother. Tied at 53-53, Frazier hits a three in front of his own bench to put NJCU back on top, 56-53. Two foul shots pushed it to 58-53 before a three by Borrelli knotted it at 60-60.
• But from there NJCU began to pull away. With 11:03 left, Muhammad, on the third tip of his own miss, scored and finished a three-point play (63-60). Another Muhammad tip-in made it 65-61 with 10 minutes left. Harris scored on a fast-break bounce pass from Wosu for a 67-61 edge before a three by new addition and junior guard Andrew Tomlin (Newark, NJ/Central) increased the margin to 70-62. It was NJCU's 10th three of the game.
• Nick DePersia tried to keep Rowan alive with a three (70-66) but with 7:18 to play, another triple by Tomlin from the right arc pushed the lead to 73-66. NJCU's 12th triple, a shot by Julius from the right side made it 76-68 (6:37). An offensive rebound and putback by Harris of a missed three gave the hosts their largest lead at 10 points (78-68, 5:48).
• The lead reached 10 two more times, including 84-74 with 1:43 left as Harris slashed down the middle of the lane with three seconds on the shot clock and scored with a finger roll layup.
• With 51.6 seconds on the click Nick DePersia hit a three from the right arc to cut the deficit to five (84-79) and after NJCU committed turnovers on consecutive possessions, DePersia drive to the hoop to make it a three-point game (84-81, 45.5 seconds).
• Rowan would not get any closer as Tomlin (42.6 seconds) and Julius (24.7 seconds) iced the win with four foul shots and the Profs could not score again.

 

#KnightNotes:

• 118th known meeting. All-time series is now even, 59-59.
• Ninth-year head coach Marc Brown won his 127th career game (127-104). He eclipsed Hall-of-Fame coach Ollie Gelston, who won 126 games from 1959-67, and coached his father (Charlie Brown), for third place in school history. In second place is former coach and athletic director Larry Schiner (133 wins) with the court's namesake, Charlie Brown the all-time wins leads (483).
• NJCU recorded season sweeps of Rutgers-Newark, William Paterson and Rowan in the same season for the first time since the 1991-92 Final Four campaign.
• The 12 three-pointers were a season high and the most since hitting 12 at Kean on January 24, 2015.
• Khalid Muhammad now has 1,153 career points and is 20th in school history. He surpassed Omar Cooper who had 1,150 points in three seasons (1994-96, 99-00). Next up on the 1,000-point list: Hall-of-Famer Ed Petersen (1962-66, 1,156 points) and former teammate Walik Albright (2009-12, 2013-14, 1,160 points).
• James Julius was one shy of his career high and had his fifth effort of 10+ points this season.
• Jalen Harris scored in double figures for the 15th time in 18 games as a Gothic Knight.
• James Frazier reached double figures in scoring for the sixth time in nine games at NJCU.
• Khalid Muhammad had his third double-digit scoring effort of the season. The 20 points were four more than his previous high of 16. It was his first double-double since an 11/11 performance at Valley Forge on February 16, 2015.
• Muhammad's previous career rebounding high was 11 on two occasions, including the Valley Forge game in 2015.
• Rowan had an assist credited on 23 of 26 baskets.
• The 12 assists by Rob DePersia were the most by an individual opponent since Rowan's Jason Rosenberg had 13 on December 1, 2012.

 
What's Next?:
In a make-up of a January 23 snow out, NJCU will host Kean University (3-15, 3-9 NJAC) on Monday, February 1 at 8 p.m. in NJAC action. It will be the 134th known meeting. NJCU leads the all-time series, 96-37 and won the first meeting of the season on December 12 in Union, NJ, 78-62. In that game, Chinwe Wosu scored 15 of his career-high 26 points in the first half. He shot a mind-boggling 11-of-14 from the field with 15 rebounds (eight offensive). James Julius netted a career-high 18 points. Follow live stats (http://sidearmstats.com/njcu/mbball/) or live video (https://www.youtube.com/user/NJCUGothicKnights/live).