WOOSTER, Ohio. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University shot a suffocating 65.7 percent in the second half, making 23-of-35 attempts in the period to turn a 15-point halftime lead into a 46-point blowout as the Gothic Knight men's basketball team dropped 100+ points for the second time this month, routing Thiel College, 106-60, in the opening game of the 56th annual E.M. "Mose" Hole/Wooster Kiwanis Classic, hosted by Wooster College.
 
In the first-ever meeting between the schools, NJCU improved to 9-3 overall—its third in a row—turning a comfortable 45-30 halftime advantage into a trouncing by outscoring the Tomcats, members of the Presidents' Athletic Conference, 61-30 in the final 20 minutes.  
 
After a 104-83 win over Albertus Magnus on December 3, the Gothic Knights lit up the scoreboard with a season-high 106—its most points in a game since losing 119-116 to Buffalo State in two overtimes in a neutral site tournament game exactly three years ago (12/29/2015)—and the most points in a win in 13 years, when NJCU downed Rutgers-Camden 110-59 in Camden, N.J. on February 15, 2006.
 
Furthermore, it was the most points NJCU has scored in a neutral-site victory since a school-record 136-108 win over Mercy on February 11, 1979.
 
The 46-point margin of victory represents NJCU most lopsided win since a 50-point win over Valley Forge on February 8, 2016. NJCU won a game by 40 or more points for the 36th time in school history and blew out a team by 30 or more for 95th time ever.
 
Junior First-Team All-American small forward Sam Toney (Plainfield, NJ/Williamstown) scored 21 points in just 16 minutes, shooting 8-of-13 overall and 5-of-8 from three-point range, with a +/- of 28. Senior power forward Yuri Brutus (Roselle, NJ/Roselle Park) chalked up 16 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting, 6-of-7 free-throw success and was one of four Gothic Knights with five rebounds. Brutus added four steals and a +/- 27.
 

On a day where 11 Gothic Knights scored and had four or more points, freshman point guard Najuan Thomas-Cancel (Irvington, NJ/Irvington), a mid-season addition to the program, scored 13 points (5-11 FG) in 14 minutes in his NCAA debut. Senior point guard Shaquan Worthy (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Central) had a game-high +/- of 30, finishing with eight points and four assists.
 
Also for NJCU, senior James Julius (Linden, NJ/Linden) collected nine points, five rebounds and a +/- 27 and sophomore center Chika Wosu (Jersey City, NJ/University Academy Charter)) produced nine points in 14 minutes (4-8 FG).
 
NJCU had 15 steals, committed only 14 turnovers and forced Thiel (3-8) into 27 giveaways. NJCU capitalized, outscoring the Tomcats 41-13 off of turnovers.
 
In all, NJCU shot 56.3 percent overall (40-71), 8-of-16 from three-point distance and 18-of-23 from the line (78.3 percent).
 
Thiel had four players reach double figures, led by sophomore guard Terrance Holloway (Farrell, Pa.) with 12 points. Senior guard Alonzo Brown (Largo, Fla.) and junior guard Nyric Gosley (Williamsport, Pa.) had 11 each and freshman guard A.J. Davis (Waldorf, Md.) added 10.
 
NJCU led wire-to-wire and after Thiel kept the deficit manageable early on, a foul shot by Worthy with 6:32 to play in the first half made the differential double figures for the rest of the night. NJCU led by as many as 17 in the first half.
 
Up 56-42 with 15:36 remaining, NJCU put its foot on the gas, using a 14-0 run over the next 3:48 to seize a 28-point, 70-42 advantage. NJCU extended the run to 29-3 over a stretch of 7:19, with the lead hitting 30 with 10:09 left and 40 when Toney buried a transition three with 8:27 to go for an 85-45 cushion to cap a stretch of 15 consecutive points. NJCU netted its 100th point with 3:22 left on a layup by rookie point guard Zuriel Turcios (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) for a 101-54 edge. Its largest lead was 48 (106-58).
 
NOTABLES:

• Series: First-ever meeting.
• NJCU improves to 81-3 all-time when scoring 100 points in a contest. All three losses were in double or triple overtime.
• Sam Toney (Plainfield, NJ/Williamstown) scored at least 20 points in a game for the 23rd time in his career, the 20th time in his last 39 games, the fourth time in five games and the sixth time this season.
• Toney scored in double figures for the 52nd time in 68 career games.
• Toney moved into 22nd place in school history with 1,103 points, surpassing former All-American Danel Allen (1091 points, 1995-98).
• Yuri Brutus (Roselle, NJ/Roselle Park) scored in double figures for the fifth time this year and the 24th time in his career.

 
UP NEXT:

• On day two (December 30, 4 p.m.) of the 56th annual E.M. "Mose" Hole/Wooster Kiwanis Classic, NJCU will have its biggest test of the season to date when it meets No. 14 ranked Wooster College. It will be the first-ever meeting in a matchup of two of the nation's best teams. Wooster (27) and NJCU (20) have combined for 47 NCAA Tournament appearances in their collective histories yet have never squared off in the postseason either.

 
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