JERSEY CITY, N.J. | The New Jersey City University (NJCU) men's basketball team improved to 11-4 overall and 7-1 in the NJAC with a commanding 81-57 home victory over Rutgers-Camden on Tuesday, January 14, at the John J. Moore Athletics & Fitness Center.
The Gothic Knights (11-4, 7-1 NJAC) shot 42.9% from the field and dominated in the paint, outscoring the Scarlet Raptors 52-18. NJCU also controlled the boards with a 42-29 rebounding advantage and forced 25 turnovers, converting them into 36 points. From the charity stripe, the Gothic Knights shot 81.8%.
Bakhi Rogers-Robinson (Orange, N.J./West Caldwell Tech) led NJCU with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting, adding four assists and four steals in 27 minutes. Donovan Crawford (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick) posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while also contributing a block in 21 minutes. Arterio Williams (Hamilton, N.J./Hamilton West) added 12 points and four rebounds, shooting an efficient 5-of-6 from the field. Kameron McGainey (Union, N.J./Union) came off the bench with seven points, six rebounds, and four steals in 19 minutes, all of which were season highs. Isaiah Green (Orange, N.J./Hillside) also provided six points off the bench, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.
Rutgers-Camden (6-7, 1-6 NJAC) was led by Cameron Downs, who scored 12 points on 3-of-6 shooting and went 6-for-7 from the free-throw line. Ryan Senft added six points and four rebounds, while Caleb Edwards contributed six points, three blocks, and a steal.
The Gothic Knights jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on a Crawford layup assisted by Marc Brown, Jr. (Union, N.J./Essex County Newark Tech), but Rutgers-Camden responded with an 8-4 run behind Eric Benjamin's three-pointer and a fast-break layup from Downs. With just a two-point lead, Williams converted a layup to spark a 14-0 run by the Gothic Knights to push their lead to 16 with 7:44 remaining. The Scarlet Raptors broke their dry spell when Noah Richmond converted from the line. Rutgers-Camden was only able to cut it down to 12 in the first half before NJCU carried a 14-point lead into the break.
In the second half, NJCU continued to assert its dominance. Williams opened the period with an offensive rebound and put-back, extending the lead to 40-24. The Gothic Knights continued to lean on their strength of the inside game as they extended their lead to as much as 30 with 6:06 to go. Rutgers-Camden tried to rally back into the game, but NJCU's relentless defensive pressure proved to be too much for the Scarlet Raptors to overcome.
Up Next:
The Gothic Knights return to action on Saturday when they hit the road to take on TCNJ at 3:00 pm.
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