JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The New Jersey City University (NJCU) men's basketball team extended its winning streak to four straight New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) games on Wednesday, Dec. 10, defeating Stockton University 73-64 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.
The Gothic Knights (6-2, 4-0 NJAC) turned in an efficient offensive performance, shooting 45 percent (27-60) from the field, 38.9 percent (7-18) from three-point range, and 63.2 percent (12-19) at the line. Stockton (3-4, 2-2 NJAC) finished at 40.4 percent (23-57) overall, 30.8 percent (8-26) from deep, and 62.5 percent (10-16) from the stripe. NJCU dominated several key areas, including points off turnovers (29-14), second-chance points (17-6), and bench scoring (23-18), while Stockton held slight advantages in points in the paint (30-28) and fast-break points (17-7).
Senior Bakhi Rogers-Robinson (Orange, N.J./West Caldwell Tech) led the way for NJCU with 21 points, three rebounds, three steals, and an assist. Junior Brince Shelton (Brooklyn, N.Y./George Westinghouse) provided a major spark, scoring 11 points in just 15 minutes. Senior Arterio Williams (Hamilton, N.J./Hamilton West) hauled in a team-high eight rebounds to go along with four points and two assists, while senior Raymond Ezike (Newark, N.J./Westside) delivered a season-best performance with seven rebounds, three blocks, a steal, and two points.
Stockton's Eriq Campbell was impressive, scoring a game-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting while adding three steals and two rebounds. Tayvon Gaither contributed 12 points, and Devon Johnson collected a team-high seven rebounds. Andrew Crawford filled the stat sheet with five assists, three steals, three rebounds, and four points.
Shelton ignited the early momentum for NJCU, knocking down a three-pointer to tie the game at 8-8 with 17:16 remaining in the first half. His bucket sparked a massive 19-0 Gothic Knight run that pushed the lead to 16 points with 12:12 left. Junior Jayden Brown (Teaneck, N.J./Immaculate Conception) scored all seven of his points during this stretch. Stockton responded late in the half, using a 10-4 run to cut the deficit to 43-36 at the break.
Early in the second half, Campbell connected from deep to make it a two-possession game at the 16:33 mark, but Rogers-Robinson answered with back-to-back baskets to restore a double-digit margin at 51-41. Stockton countered again, stringing together an 8-0 run to close within two, 51-49, with 13:36 to play. From there, NJCU relied on balanced scoring, with six different players contributing points down the stretch to maintain the lead. Despite Stockton picking up two technical fouls in the final five minutes, the Gothic Knights converted only 1-of-4 free throws, but still outscored the Ospreys 22-15 over the final 13 minutes to secure the 73-64 win and remain unbeaten in conference play.
UP NEXT:
NJCU travels to Union, N.J., for a 1:00 p.m. NJAC matchup against Kean University.
