JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The New Jersey City University men's basketball team opened up its New Jersey Athletic Conference (NIAC) season against Rutgers-Newark on Tuesday night, Nov. 23, in the friendly confines of the fully-packed John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC) on coach Charlie Brown Court. NJCU battled back from double-digit deficits each half against Rutgers, but unfortunately was unable to grab the lead and fell 68-58.
The first half was a tough one for Jersey City (3-2, 0-1 NJAC) as the squad managed to stay with Rutgers (4-1, 1-0 NJAC) at 8-8 with 15:28 remaining until the break. Leading 13-12, the Scarlet Raiders then went on a 7-0 run to take a 20-12 lead at 10:34. Neither team scored for a couple of minutes, until senior
Denzel Banks (Newark, NJ/East Orange Campus) broke the scoreless run with a jumper at 8:32 to make it 20-14. The Gothic Knight tri-captain was the game's second-leading scorer with a team-high 22 points.
Sophomore
Hakeem Wilson (Newark, N.J./North Star Academy) and Banks combined for four more points, and it looked like the Gothic Knights were building momentum, trailing 20-18 with 7:08 left. Unfortunately, Rutgers stretched that lead back out to as many as 12 points with 0:27 left. However, senior
Jason Battle (Jersey City, N.J./Roselle Catholic) came up clutch in the waning moments, drilling a three with a hand in his face to make it a nine-point, 38-29, game at the half.
The second half started off slow for NJCU as well, as Rutgers managed to methodically stretch its lead to a 13-point advantage at 50-37 with 15:10 remaining in regulation. The Gothic Knights got it together, though, and trimmed it all the way down to a three-point game at 53-49 with 8:35 left, thanks in part to five points during that period of time from Banks. Unfortunately, over the next six-plus minutes of the game, the Scarlet Raiders used an 11-2 run to make it a 12-point game once again at 63-51, capped off by a three-pointer from Quincy Rutherford – the RU senior led all players with 32 points.
Senior forward
Kayton Darley (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) nailed a couple of shots over the next 50 seconds – a jumper at 2:06 and a three at 1:25 – to trim it back down to seven at 63-56, followed by a pair of free throws from freshman
Zaire Jefferson (Newark, N.J./Payne Tech) at 00:56 which made it a six-point, 64-58 game. However, the Scarlet Raiders made their foul shots with time winding down to seal the NJAC-opening win over the Knights.
Highlights:
- Banks was 9-of-17 (52.9 percent) from the floor and added four steals, four rebounds, two assists and a block before fouling out in the game's final moments.
- Battle ended with 10 points, two boards and two assists.
- Junior
Michael Clement (Sicklerville, NJ/Winslow Township) and sophomore
Ryan Savoy (Lakewood, N.J./Lakewood) each notched three blocks, while clement also had five points, five rebounds and three steals.
- Overall, NJCU shot just under 42.0 from the floor, a respectable number, but couldn't get anything going from three (2-of-11) and had a tough time at the line (10-of-21), which made the difference in the loss to Rutgers-Newark. The visiting Scarlet Raiders shot 53.3 percent from long range and just under 71.0 percent from the line.
Up Next:
After a brief respite for the Gothic Knights thanks to the Thanksgiving Holiday, NJCU faces one of the toughest tests in program history – a head-to-head battle with preseason #1 in the nation, Randolph-Macon College. The two top-25 ranked teams will meet on Saturday, Nov. 27, at 2:00 p.m. in the opening game of the Christopher Newport University/Holiday Inn Invitational down in Newport News, Va. The Gothic Knights will then have a chance at redemption on Sunday, Nov. 28, at 12:00 p.m. when they face off with Alvernia University – the team that dealt Jersey City its season-opening loss back on Saturday, Nov. 6, at the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) Tip-Off Tournament in Hartford, Conn.
