MONTCLAIR, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University learned just hours before tipoff it was the No. 1 ranked team in the NCAA Division III Atlantic Region and the Gothic Knights proved it by getting a must road victory against the No. 4 ranked team in the region—Montclair State University. Sophomore power forward Sam Toney (Plainfield, NJ/Williamstown) generated his fourth consecutive double and 12th of the season to power five Gothic Knights in double figures and NJCU defeated Montclair State, 84-76, in New Jersey Athletic Conference action on February 7 at the Panzer Athletic Center.
 
NJCU (18-5, 12-4 NJAC) clinched a home game in the NJAC Tournament and got retribution for a January 3 home loss to the Red Hawks (16-7, 10-6 NJAC) as the two schools split the season series, each winning on the opponent's home floor.
 
While there were 11 ties and five lead changes in the game, NJCU led by one at halftime after a shaky first 20 minutes and trailed by six (45-39) in the first four minutes of the second half. But five straight points by Toney, and a pair of three pointers by sophomore shooting guard Jeff Haddock (Burlington Township, NJ/Willingboro) and junior shooting guard Lavrone Green (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) fueled a 12-0 outburst that put the Gothic Knights in front for good.
 
It was still a two-point game (56-54) with 10:30 left before the Knights put together another huge streak—a 14-2 run to build a 14-point, 70-56 lead with 5:21 to play—and NJCU was never challenged again. Haddock scored eight points during the streak, including three-pointers with 8:03 and 5:21 to go and Toney had four more points.
 
Toney was 8-for-8 from the foul line and scored 19 points with 10 rebounds (nine defensive) and Haddock was red hot in 18 minutes off the bench, finishing with 15 points on 3-of-5 three-point shooting and 6-for-6 free throw accuracy.
 
NJCU and Montclair combined for 67 foul shots attempted in a physical game. The Knights were 29-of-41 from the stripe (.707) with MSU shooting 21-of-26 (.808).  
 
Green was the third NJCU player who didn't miss from the line, hitting 8-of-8 to finish with 13 points. Junior forward James Julius (Linden, NJ/Linden) added 11 points (4-8 FG) and six rebounds and junior point guard Shaquan Worthy (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Central) chipped in 10 points, hitting all four shots he attempted, while collecting three assists and three steals.
 
For Montclair State, freshman guard Myles Mitchell-White (Trenton, N.J.), winner of eight of the first 12 NJAC Rookie of the Week awards this season, led all scorers with 20 points (6-13 FG, 7-8 FT) and had six assists and six rebounds in 38 minutes before fouling out. Senior forward Jarrett Bogus (Middlesex, N.J.) finished with 16 points (5-9 FG, 6-7 FT) and five rebounds. Sophomore forward Kaan Yilmaz (Izmir, Turkey) totaled eight points on 3-of-4 shooting.
 
Montclair led for much of the first half and twice held seven-point advantages—the last at 19-12 at the midway point of the stanza. NJCU tied it at 26-26 with 2:59 left in the half then took the lead with 2:12 remaining on a rare four-point play by Worthy—a made three followed by a free throw. Worthy's fast break steal and layup and Julius' triple with 24 seconds to go made it a four-point lead before Mitchell-White answered with a three in the final seconds for a 35-34 NJCU halftime lead.
 
NOTABLES:

• Series: 170th known meeting since the early 1930s. Montclair leads the all-time series, 94-75.
• NJCU receiving 6 points in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll.
• NJCU ranked No. 1 in the first NCAA Division III Atlantic Regional rankings of the 2017-18 season (February 7, 2018)
• Sam Toney (Plainfield, NJ/Williamstown) scored in double figures for the 39th time in 52 career games. He has scored 826 career points.
• Toney reached double figures in rebounds for the 18th time in his career and 13th time this year.
• Toney produced his 17th career double-double and 12th of the season.
• Lavrone Green (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) reached double figures in scoring for the 18th time in 23 games as a Gothic Knight. For Green, it was the 35th double digit scoring effort of his collegiate career.
• Jeff Haddock (Burlington Township, NJ/Willingboro) scored in double figures for the fourth time in eight games to open his NJCU career and for the 23rd time in 47 career games between Rowan and NJCU.
• James Julius (Linden, NJ/Linden) scored in double figures for the seventh time this season and for the 18th time in his career.
• Shaquan Worthy (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Central) scored in double figures for the fourth time in his career—all this season.

 
UP NEXT:
In a key regional showdown between last year's NJAC finalists, NJCU will host regionally No. 3 ranked Ramapo College on Saturday, February 10 at 3 p.m. at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center ('Coach Charlie Brown Court'). In the first meeting this season on January 13 in Mahwah, Toney scored 40 of his career-high 42 points in regulation—the most points in a road game in the 85-year history of Gothic Knight basketball—but Ramapo's Josh Ford hit an uncontested driving layup with just under two seconds remaining as the Roadrunners survived, 85-84, in one overtime in a thrilling rematch of the 2017 NJAC championship game. Saturday's meeting will be the 93rd meeting in a series NJCU leads, 66-26. Prior to the game, NJCU will honor its two seniors—guards Ruben Acosta (Waterbury, CT/Bogota) and Gene Campbell (Carteret, NJ/East Brunswick Tech).
 
GOTHIC KNIGHTS on SOCIAL MEDIA:
For the latest on #NJCUMBB, follow the Gothic Knights on social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and SnapChat. Preferred hashtags are GothicFamily and GothicGameDay.