MAHWAH, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University led by 16 midway through the second half and by seven with under five minutes to play before Ramapo College rallied to force overtime where the Roadrunners outscored NJCU 15-8 in an 80-73 upset of the New Jersey Athletic Conference-leading Gothic Knights on February 3 at the Bill Bradley Center.
 
NJCU (13-7, 11-3 NJAC) had its four-game winning streak snapped and missed four straight foul shots in the final two minutes when Ramapo (14-7, 10-4 NJAC) tied it. Ramapo had a chance to win it in regulation but the Knights got a defensive stop in the final seconds.

In overtime, freshman small forward James Julius (Linden, NJ/Linden) knocked down two three-pointers—his only two field goals of the game—with 4:05 and 1:40 to go to give the Knights a 73-72 lead before Ramapo scored the final eight points of the night and NJCU missed its final four shots.
 

The loss drops NJCU back into a first-place tie with Stockton (16-5, 11-3) although the Knights own a road win over the Ospreys this season and host the defending NJAC champions on February 10. NJCU is a game in front of Rutgers-Newark and Ramapo at 10-4.
 
The loss spoiled a sensational double-double by senior small forward Khalid Muhammad (Orange, NJ/Orange) who continues to play well as his career winds down. Muhammad notched his second career double-double against an NJAC opponent—all coming in the last three games—and the fourth of his career, by scoring 17 points (8-19 FG) and 13 rebounds in 38 minutes. Muhammad moved into 17th place in school history with 1,183 points and reached double figures for a 65th time.
 
After missing the last game with an injury, junior shooting guard Jalen Harris (Brandywine, MD/Gwynn Park (Md.)) netted a game-high 22 points—his sixth 20-point performance of the season—scoring 15 in the first half when NJCU led by seven. He was 6-of-13 from the field (3-8 3FG) and 7-of-8 from the line with six rebounds and four assists.
 
Also for NJCU, freshman center Yuri Brutus (Roselle Park, NJ/Roselle Park) came off the bench to score 15 points for the second straight game on 6-of-8 shooting with seven rebounds.
 
Ramapo had a pair of 20-point performances with David Haye matching a game-high 22 points (5-11 FG) including 12-of-16 free throws and nine rebounds. He scored 20 of Ramapo's 38 second half points. Josh Ford had 20 points, including the game-tying three-point play with 1:04 to go. Ford was 3-of-3 from three-point distance (6-11 FG) and 5-of-5 at the line with four assists.

Also for the Roadrunners, NJAC Player of the Week pick Thomas Bonacum had nine points and four assists. Jermaine Peart and Cory Soanes each scored nine. Peart had seven rebounds. Soanes, who fouled out, was 7-of-8 at the line and had four steals.

Ford and Peart each scored five points in the overtime for RCNJ.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• NJCU had 10 first half steals and after four ties, gained a 21-15 lead with 6:15 left in the half. Ramapo scored the next seven points to regain a one-point lead (22-21) before the Knights answered with a 9-0 run, capped by a pair of threes by Harris, for a 30-22 lead with 1:28 remaining in the period.  NJCU led 34-27 at halftime.
• NJCU made the lead 10 in the first two minutes of the second half. The lead reached 13 when Brutus completed a three-point play with 14:53 to go and a Harris triple made it a 47-31, 16-point margin (14:24). It was 50-35 when freshman guard Tyler Caldwell (Jersey City, NJ/Henry Snyder) canned a three and a 16-point differential (54-38) with 11:27 left on a Muhammad jumper in the paint.
• Ramapo began to rally. A 10-2 run whittled the margin to single digits (54-46). NJCU still led by eight with 7:38 to go on a pair of Harris foul shots and was seven with 5:05 on the board off a Muhammad jumper. Senior power forward Chinwe Wosu (Jersey City, NJ/University Academy Charter) turned an offensive rebound into a bucket with 4:27 left for a 65-58 cushion. NJCU wouldn't score again in regulation, missing its final five shots.
• Haye hit a jumper with 4:17 left and Soanes connected in the paint to make it a three-point game. Wosu missed two free throws with 1:54 to play and Ford drove the lane and scored with 1:04 to go and tied it from the line.
• NJCU missed with 47 seconds left, got a rebound, missed again with 30 seconds to go and was sent to the line with 29 seconds remaining. Caldwell was unsuccessful with a pair of free throws. Ramapo got the ball back with a chance to win it. Ford drove to the right side of the lane 1-on-1, but missed against good defense.
• In overtime Julius struck first from three and hit another for a 73-72 margin with 1:40 left. With 1:16 left, Ford put RCNJ back in front with two foul shots. NJCU missed a three with 1:02 to go and with 35 seconds on the clock, Ford drilled a three from the right arc for a 77-73 edge before Ramapo iced it at the line when NJCU missed three subsequent trey attempts.

 
#KnightNotes:

• 88th meeting. NJCU leads the all-time series, 65-23. The teams split the season series.
• Khalid Muhammad now has 1,183 career points and is 17th in school history. He surpassed Bob Johnson who scored 1,178 points from 1968-71. Next up in 16th place in Hall-of-Famer John Celentano who scored 1,230 points from 1971-74.
• Yuri Brutus scored in double figures for the 10th time this year.
• Jalen Harris scored in double figures for the 16th time in 19 games as a Gothic Knight.

What's Next?:
NJCU heads to Ewing, NJ on Saturday, February 6 at 3 p.m. to face The College of New Jersey (13-8, 8-6 NJAC). In the first meeting of the season on January 9 in Jersey City, NJCU led by as many as 15 points in the second half, TCNJ rallied, and a  dramatic final six minutes that saw four ties and a frenzied pace followed. The Lions got a go-ahead basket with 53 seconds left and a pair of defensive stops, in the 76-74 upset that handed the Knights their first NJAC loss after starting 6-0. The loss spoiled one of the finest free-throw shooting performances in program history. NJCU shot 22-of-25 from the line and at 88.0 percent, it was a school record for a game with at least 25 free throws attempted. The game will be the 137th meeting during the NJAC era (since 1955-56). NJCU leads the all-time series, 73-43. Follow live stats at: http://www.sidearmstats.com/tcnj/mbball/ .

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