JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University led by 13 at halftime and withstood a comeback bid in the middle of the second half by the current top defensive team in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, holding off Rutgers-Newark, 71-65, on Basketball Alumni Weekend (December 8)  at John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court).
 
After Rutgers-Newark (4-4, 1-4 NJAC) junior guard Chase Barneys (Woodbridge, N.J.) hit a three with 1:08 to play to make it a three-point contest (64-61), Gothic Knight senior point guard Shaquan Worthy (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Central) hit a dagger three, beating the shot clock with 32 seconds to go to extend the lead to six before NJCU (7-3, 3-2 NJAC) iced it from the line.
 
Rutgers-Newark entered with the top scoring defense in the NJAC at just 63.4 points per game yet NJCU still managed to put four players in double figures. Sophomore shooting guard Denzel Banks (Newark, NJ/(East Orange Campus) scored 13 points in 21 minutes of reserve action and senior point guard James Richardson (Jersey City, NJ/Snyder) was 5-for-5 from the floor in the first half when he scored all 12 of his points, finishing 5-of-10 overall in 27 minutes off the bench.
 
Senior shooting guard Lavrone Green (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) had 12 points (4-7 FG) and senior small forward James Julius (Linden, NJ/Linden) had his best effort of the year, knocking down 3-of-4 three-point shots to finish with 12 points in 26 minutes. Worthy made all three shots he attempts, finishing with seven points and four assists. Junior All-American small forward Sam Toney (Plainfield, NJ/Williamstown) only attempted five shots in the game and scored all six of his points from the line where he was 6-for-6.
 
Barneys had a game-high 24 points for RUN, hitting on 8-of-16 attempts, including five threes (5-11). Senior forward Mark Isiofia-Thomas (Newark, N.J.) tallied 12 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Tyler Ofray (Newark, N.J.) added 12 points and six assists.
 
NJCU fell behind 12-4 early in the game as Barneys scored seven early points before NJCU scraped together a 14-2 run to seize a 16-14 lead. NJCU buried three triples during the stretch, including a pair by Julius.
 
Tied 16-16 with 10:07 to go, NJCU pulled away over the next five minutes with a 15-2 outburst that allowed the hosts to seize a 31-18 margin. Richardson scored nine of the 15 points.
 
Altogether, after trailing 12-4 with 15:09 to go in the first half, NJCU outscored the Scarlet Raiders 27-6 over the next 10:35 of game action. NJCU held a 38-25 advantage at the break.
 
RUN whittled that lead to just three when it opened the second half on a 12-2 run, led by Barneys who drilled back-to-back-to-back threes at 17:04, 16:46 and 15:54. NJCU was able to hold the line and still led 50-42 with 11:04 to play before a 10-0 run gave the Raiders a 52-50 lead with 8:41 to play—their first since early in the first half. It was short-lived.
 
Green's steal and fast break bucket with 6:16 to play gave NJCU back the lead for good and his jumper with 4:16 left worked the margin back to six (60-54). Freshman center Tyrone Bowers, Jr. (Union, N.J.) scored a pair of baskets (3:53 and 2:29) to draw within two, 60-58, before foul shots by sophomore center Chika Wosu (Jersey City, NJ/University Academy Charter)) and Toney made the cushion six again (64-58) with 1:26 left, leading to the final sequence by Barneys and Worthy.
 

 
NOTABLES:

• Series: 84th meeting. NJCU leads all-time, 67-17, and has won the last seven meetings.
• Toney remained in 25th place in school history with 1,062 career points.
• Lavrone Green (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) scored in double figures for the 26th time in 37 games as a Gothic Knight and the fifth time this season.
• Denzel Banks (Newark, NJ/(East Orange Campus) scored in double figures for the sixth time in 10 games this year.
• James Richardson (Jersey City, NJ/Snyder) scored in double figures for the fourth time in the last five games—the four times he's done it as a Gothic Knight.
• James Julius (Linden, NJ/Linden), who entered the game with just 14 points in nine games, netted a season-high 12 points. It was the 20th double digit scoring effort of his collegiate career.

 
UP NEXT:
 

• NJCU is idle until Saturday, December 15 (1 p.m.) when it heads to Ewing, N.J. to face rival The College of New Jersey in the final game of the fall semester.

 
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