Box Score UNION, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University men's basketball team (8-9, 5-5 NJAC) built up a 20-point cushion in the second half of their conference showdown with Kean University (4-13, 1-9 NJAC), but some scorching shooting from the Cougars made things close in the final ten minutes, with Kean getting as close one before the Gothic Knights held on for the 88-84 victory at Harwood Arena on Wednesday, January 22.   
 
The Knights used a balanced offensive approach to conquer the Cougars, with five players scoring in double figures and nine players chipping in at least five points on the night. Senior wing Jaimik Moore (Hackensack, NJ/Hackensack) led the way with 16 points, while junior point guard Tarique Holmes (Jersey City, NJ/Bayonne) had the most balanced game for NJCU with 11 points, six assists, five rebounds, and four steals.
 
For Kean, they also had five players in double figures, with Kendall Blount (Dorothy, N.J.) leading the way with 20 points on 9-12 shooting in just 25 minutes. Sophomore forward Nate Lyles (Somerset, N.J.) poured in 13 of his 17 points in the second half, helping to key the Cougars late run.
 
Both teams ended up shooting over 50.0% from the field for the game, but the Knights started slow, not scoring for the first four-plus minutes, while Kean went up 6-0. However, NJCU warmed up quickly after that, and went on a hefty 23-4 run, keyed by Holmes, to help establish a solid first-half lead.
 
NJCU got the lead up to 18, but Kean scored nine of the final 11 points of the half to trim the margin to 11 at the break, 43-32.
 
The Cougars got the margin down to around seven early in the second half, but a Sam Toney (Plainfield, NJ/Williamstown) three quickly pushed the margin back out to 10, and by the 9:55 mark, the lead was up to 20 (73-53) for NJCU. 
 
Fifteen seconds later, though, was a made three for Kean, and then another made three, and then a foul on an attempted three, and just like that, the Cougar offense was off and running.
 
Kean tallied 31 points in the final 9:55, and when the Knights committed yet another foul on an attempted three with just under a minute to go, Lyles stepped to the line able to cut the margin to just one. The sophomore did just that, and with 54 seconds to go, the score was 85-84, NJCU.
 
Junior guard, Denzel Banks (Newark, NJ/East Orange Campus), who had a quiet night, came up big when it mattered most, though, driving into the paint and converting his lay-up with 42 seconds left to put the Knights back up three, 87-84.
 
A missed layup from Kean, and a made free throw from Holmes cinched the game for NJCU, bringing them back up to .500 in the conference and moving them into sole possession of the final playoff spot in the NJAC tournament, as of today (eight conference games remaining).
 
NOTABLES:

• Series: The Knights extended their series win streak to 12, and now lead the all-time series, 105-37.
• Sam Toney (Plainfield, NJ/Williamstown) moves into the top five in school history with 1,603 points, passing NJCU Hall-of-Famer Mark Washington (2002-06, 1600 points). Toney scored in double figures for the 80th time in 101 career games. 
• Jaimik Moore (Hackensack, NJ/Hackensack) scored in double figures for the eighth straight game and has reached double digits in all but one of his games in an NJCU uniform.
• Jahmere Calhoun (Manchester, NJ/Brick Memorial) scored in double figures for the fourth time at NJCU and second straight game.
• Tarique Holmes (Jersey City, NJ/Bayonne) scored in double figures for the third time in his NJCU career.
• Karton Darley scored in double figures for the fifth time in his NJCU career.

UP NEXT:

• NJCU hosts the defending NJAC champion Profs of Rowan (8-8, 4-5 NJAC) on Saturday, January 25. Please note: Tip-off has been moved up an hour to 2:00 p.m.

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