JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University needed just an hour and 23 minutes to post one of the most lopsided wins in school history as the Gothic Knights shot 62.9 percent in the second half and buried 12 three-pointers in a 97-47 trouncing of University of Valley Forge in non-conference action on February 8 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court). It was the 12th win by at least 50 points in the 83 year history of the program and the first in five seasons.
 
NJCU improved to 15-7 with its sixth win in its last seven games. Meanwhile the Gothic Knights are peaking offensively in the final month of the regular season and have posted their three largest margins of victory in the last week—a 27 point win over Kean on February 1 and a 25-point crushing of TCNJ, leading up to the 50-point outcome tonight. Valley Forge fell to 4-16.
 
NJCU snagged its first 50-point win since a 56-point, 103-47 decision over Berkeley (NJ) on February 7, 2011. Furthermore, NJCU won a game by 40 or more points for the 35th time in school history and blew out a team by 30 or more for 92nd time ever.
 
NJCU dominated the first half and led 45-23 at the break before outscoring the Patriots, 52-24, in the second half. NJCU shot 52.8 percent for the game (38-72) and 12-of-25 from three-point range with six threes in each half. The Knights were good on 22-of-35 shots in the second half.
 NJCU finished the game with 29 assists on 38 baskets—the most assists since dishing 30 in the win over Berkeley in 2011. NJCU's bench outscored the Patriot reserves, 52-18, and the Knights held a 45-24 rebounding margin, including 17-4 on the offensive glass, which resulted in a 29-2 differential in second chance points. NJCU only committed five turnovers in the game—five in each half—and turned 24 Patriot miscues into a 35-10 advantage in points off giveaways.
 
Junior shooting guard Jalen Harris (Brandywine, MD/Gwynn Park (Md.)) scored 15 points in the first half for the third consecutive game and finished with a game-high 17 points (7-12 FG), including 3-of-6 three-point accuracy and four assists in 21 minutes.  
 
Junior point guard Ata Robinson (Newark, NJ/East Side) notched 10 of his 16 points in the second half, shooting 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point distance, while dishing six assists in 20 minutes.
 
Also for NJCU, sophomore center Luis Lopez (Jersey City, NJ/Colegio de Diego; Carolina, Puerto Rico), who had scored just 13 points in his first eight games since joining the team on December 22, netted a career-high 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting in 16 minutes. Freshman center Yuri Brutus (Roselle Park, NJ/Roselle Park) added nine points (4-7 FG) and freshman small forward James Julius (Linden, NJ/Linden) added eight points (2-2 FG) and four assists in 12 minutes.
 
In all, 14 different Gothic Knights scored in the game, 13 had a rebound and 10 contributed an assist.
 
Thorne McIntosh (Martinsburg, WV) led the guests with 10 points. Sean Word (Baltimore, MD) had nine rebounds and seven points.

 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Knights outrebounded the Patriots, 10-2 on the offensive glass in the first 20 minutes and owned a 15-0 advantage in second chance points. The Knights committed just five first half turnovers and scored 18 points off 13 VF giveaways.
• Harris, in 14 first half minutes, and was 6-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point distance. NJCU had assists on 13 of 16 first half baskets.
• NJCU led wire-to-wire and opened an early 10-2 lead behind five points from Harris and a Robinson three. VF cut it to four (15-11) with 13:18 left before the Knights scored the next five points—all scored by Brutus, for a 20-11 edge. That sparked a decisive 19-2 outburst over 7:20 that saw the lead swell to 34-13 when senior small forward Khalid Muhammad (Orange, NJ/Orange) buried a three with 5:57 left.
• The lead was as many as 27 points (45-18) with 2:30 left in the first half.
• The margin reached 30 when Robinson scored on a fast break off a Harris steal just 4:12 into the second half.
• When freshman guard Tyler Caldwell (Jersey City, NJ/Henry Snyder) canned the first of his two three-pointers with 7:03 to go the cushion reached 40 points, 81-41. Lopez scored inside off an offensive rebound with 18 seconds left to give NJCU the 50-point difference—its largest of the game. VF scored just one field goal in the final 5:50 of the game.

 

#KnightNotes:

• Fourth meeting. NJCU leads all-time series, 4-0.
• NJCU's all-time record when scoring 90+ points improved to 228-16 (.934).
• The previous largest margin of victory this season was 27 against Kean on February 1 (79-52) and a 25-point win at TCNJ in its last game (February 6, 81-56).
• The 47 points are a season low for an opponent. The previous season low was 52 by Kean on February 1.
• The 47 points are the least scored by an opponent since a 64-45 win over Kean on November 22, 2014.
• Khalid Muhammad now has 1,195 career points and is 17th in school history. Next up in 16th place in Hall-of-Famer John Celentano who scored 1,230 points from 1971-74.
• Jalen Harris scored in double figures for the 18th time in 21 games as a Gothic Knight.
• Ata Robinson scored in double figures for the seventh time this year (second straight game).
• Robinson had at least five assists for the ninth time and second straight game.
• Ninth-year head coach Marc Brown has 130 wins (130-105) and is now three shy of matching former coach and athletic director Larry Schiner (133 wins) for second place all-time. His father, Charlie Brown, is the all-time wins leader (483).
• NJCU's previous season high for assists was 23 on December 9 vs. Ramapo.
• The 12 made threes match a season high; NJCU also hit 12 in a win over Rowan on January 30.

 
What's Next?:
In perhaps the most important game of the regular season, NJCU hosts Stockton (17-5, 12-3 NJAC) on Wednesday, February 10 at 8 p.m. Both teams are tied for first place in the NJAC with three games remaining although the Knights won in Galloway, NJ on January 6, 74-69. The winner of the game would have the inside track for the NJAC regular season championship and the No. 1 seed in the NJAC Tournament. Stockton is playing well, having won eight straight games and Osprey head coach Gerry Matthews, in his 30th season on the sidelines, will be seeking his 600th career win.
 
It will be the 79th meeting in a series NJCU leads, 44-34 (won last two). In the win on January 6, freshman small forward James Frazier (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth), in his third collegiate game, netted 19 of his 24 points in the second half. NJCU bounced back from a 33-25 halftime deficit on the road by outscoring the Ospreys 49-36 in the second half. NJCU trailed by 15 in the second half but erased it with runs of 11-0 and 14-3 in the final seven minutes. In defeat, Stockton made 15 three-pointers. The 15 made threes are a single-game record for an opponent.