GLASSBORO, N.J. — The New Jersey City University men's basketball squad suffered a tough nine-point loss in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play on Wednesday night, Jan.4, on the road at Rowan University by a score of 82-73.
The Profs (10-3, 6-0 NJAC) sit atop the conference standings, along with undefeated #RV Kean University at 6-0, with Montclair State University at 5-0. The Gothic Knights (7-6, 2-4 NJAC) are currently tied for fifth along with William Paterson University. NJCU fell behind early to Rowan at the midway point of the first half, trailing by 16 at 22-6. However, Jersey City proceeded to go on a 13-2 run to cut the deficit to just five at 24-19 with 4:59 to go until the break — five different Gothic Knights scored during this stretch, including a jumper and a pair of free throws from junior center
Michael Clement (Sicklerville, NJ/Winslow Township).
Despite that momentum for the Gothic Knights, the Profs managed to go back up by 13 at the half. To start the second, Jersey City chipped away slightly at Rowan's lead, getting it to within eight as late as 11:15 remaining at 57-49 thanks in part to a 12-2 run after trailing by 18 at 55-37 with 15:37 remaining — senior guard
Keshon Smith (Queens, N.Y./Martin Van Buren) had an and-one during this stretch, while junior forward
Pharoh Allah (Rahway, N.J./St. Genevieve (Calif.)) and sophomore guard
Zaire Jefferson (Newark, N.J./Payne Tech) each chipped in a pair of buckets.
Unfortunately, a 13-1 run for Rowan followed immediately to put the Profs ahead by a game-high 20 points at 70-50 with 7:15 remaining. A quick 7-0 run for Jersey City cut the lead back down to 13 with 5:31 remaining, but the Profs again managed to get ahead by 18 with 2:59 left and the score at 78-60. Not done yet though, the Gothic Knights answered with a 10-1 run of their own, led by four points a pop for juniors guard
Will Brown (Jersey City, N.J./Hudson Catholic) and forward
Ryan Savoy (Lakewood, N.J./Lakewood) — NJCU trailed by nine at 79-70 with just under a minute to go. Some free throws for the Profs made it a 12-point game and, following a made three from Brown at the final buzzer, NJCU fell by the 82-73 final.
Highlights:
- Brown finished with 22 minutes played off the bench and led NJCU with 13 points. He also had a team-high-tying two steals and six rebounds.
- Senior forward
Kayton Darley (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) finished with 12 points on 50.0 percent shooting to go with five boards, an assist and a steal.
- Savoy was the third and final Gothic Knight in double figures, adding 11 points, a team-best seven rebounds and also had a pair of steals.
- Clement saw 22 minutes off the bench, scoring six points, pulling down five rebounds and had a team-high two blocks.
- The majority of NJCU's offense came underneath the basket as the squad outscored Rowan in points in the paint (42-18). Bench players also outscored those of the Profs, 36-16.
Up Next:
Jersey City returns to action on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 7, for home NJAC play at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC) as Rutgers-Newark comes to Coach Charlie Brown Court.
