MONTCLAIR, N.J. – The New Jersey City University men's basketball traveled to Montclair State University for the second-to-last New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) match-up for the season on Saturday, Feb. 12. About a month ago, the Green and Gold took down the Red Hawks in another close game, winning 69-66 at the John J. Moore Athletics & Fitness Center (JMAC). Despite taking the lead at halftime, the Gothic Knights ultimately fell 62-59 in today's game. NJCU now moves to seventh place in the overall NJAC conference standings heading into the final week of regular season play.

Jersey City (11-13, 8-9 NJAC) and the Red Hawks (13-8, 9-7 NJAC) were neck-and-neck throughout most of the game, especially in the first half. Montclair got a quick start, leading 7-0 in the first four minutes. Junior Derryen Whyte (Irvington, N.J./Union) scored the first five for NJCU – Whyte held the overall team-high 16 points in today's contest. Senior captain Jason Battle (Jersey City, N.J./Roselle Catholic) put in two good free throws, followed with a layup from senior Kayton Darley (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen). NJCU trailed 10-9 half-way through the period, until sophomore Ryan Savoy (Lakewood, N.J./Lakewood) threw down a dunk in transition after a Montclair turnover.

Senior captain Marvellous Akingbala (Union, N.J./Union) put in a jumper, tying the game up 13-13. With additional shots by freshmen Zaire Jefferson (Newark, N.J./Payne Tech) and Ben Todd (Woodland Hills, Calif./El Camino Real Charter), Darley and senior captain Denzel Banks (Newark, NJ/East Orange Campus), the Gothic Knights held an eight-point lead of 23-15. The Red Hawks were able to come back, tying up the game 27-27, with an additional free throw by Whyte. Savoy made the last jumper of the half, leaving NJCU up 29-28 by the buzzer.

The Green and Gold held the momentum for the first two minutes of the new half. Darley and Banks put in early points, growing the lead 34-28. However, Jersey City seemed to be at a standstill for the next four minutes, giving the Red Hawks the opportunity to take over the lead 40-34. Todd made a jumper in the 14th minute, followed by layups from freshman Corey Manning-Floyd (Jersey City, N.J./Snyder) and Whyte. In the last 10 minutes, Montclair led NJCU 46-40. Battle, Banks, Whyte and Jefferson added baskets up until the final four minutes. Darley made a jumper, tying the game 54-54. Darley was immediately followed by another layup from Banks to make it 56-54 NJCU. In the final minute, Whyte added three points from free throws, but the Red Hawks didn't back down. Montclair made a jumper and late free throw to end the game 62-59.

Highlights:
- Whyte ended with a team-high 16 points, followed by Banks with 11, then Darley and Todd with seven each.
- Savoy found the most rebounds for NJCU, leading with nine; Whyte followed with six and Banks with four.
- Jefferson and Battle each had three assists; Battle also tallied two steals.
- Todd made two blocks today; Savoy, Whyte, Darley and Manning-Floyd each tallied one.

What's Next: 
NJCU will honor the Class of 2022 seniors before the final NJAC match-up against conference-rival Stockton University. The Gothic Knights took down the Ospreys in last year's NJAC championship final to claim the conference title. Darley made a final buzzer-beater three-point shot to leave NJCU victorious, 79-77 over Stockton. The clash will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 8:00 p.m. at the JMAC. Catch all the action live on GothicVision.