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New Jersey City University shot 63 percent from the field to open up a 14-point half time lead, and never trailed, before holding off a late surge by Lycoming College to defeat the Warriors, 59-56, in the opening game of the Albright College/Sheraton-New Year’s Tournament, Friday evening at the George C. Bollman Center.
NJCU (6-6) evens its record at .500 overall, while snapping a three-game losing streak. Lycoming (6-5) had its three-game winning streak halted. NJCU now leads the all-time series, 3-1. NJCU will seek to win its second tournament this season when it faces host Albright—73-48 winners over Penn College—in Saturday’s championship game at 4 p.m. NJCU and Albright, which had never faced each other before this season, will meet for the second time in eight days.
It was the second meeting between the schools in the last four seasons. NJCU eliminated the Warriors in the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament, with LC winning the last meeting on December 8, 2004.
For the Knights, sophomore guard KEVIN TUCKER (Jersey City, NJ/Ferris) was one of three players in double figures in scoring, as he netted 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-4 from three-point range. Senior center ABRAHAM WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) finished with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, adding six rebounds and three assists.
Also for NJCU, junior forward MARQUES HILL (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) had 10 points (4-8 FG) and six boards, while senior point guard ALEX MIRABEL (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) contributed nine points, six assists, and five rebounds.
Sophomore swingman DANA JOHN (Hillside, NJ/Pocono Mountain East (Pa.)), the reigning New Jersey Athletic Conference Player of the Week, left with an injury in the first half. He returned in the second period, but was limited to a season-low six points.
For Lycoming, sophomore forward Greg Sye (Chantilly, VA/Chantilly) had game-highs of 16 points (5-9 FG) and four steals before fouling out. Sophomore guard Jemayne Nowlin (Gaithersburg, MD/Quince Orchard) came off the bench to score 13. The Warriors also received eight points (4-5 FG) and six rebounds from freshman center Rickey Varnell (Patterson, NY/Brewster), and eight rebounds from junior forward Matt McGair (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Moorestown).
With the game tied 2-2, NJCU used a 14-0 run to open up a 16-2 margin at 16:12, extending the spurt to 18-2 and a 20-4 lead on a fast-break basket by Hill. During the run, NJCU made three three-pointers, and all five starters scored. The Knights hit 17-of-27 from the field in the period (63.0%) and owned a 39-25 lead at the half.
Although NJCU finished shooting 50 percent overall for the game (24-48), their second half shooting plunged to 33.3 percent (7-21) and the Knights scored just 20 points in the half. However, despite being outscored in the second half, 30-21, NJCU’s defense limited the Warriors to 9-of-24 in the period (37.5%).
NJCU continued to lead by double figures for much of the second half, but the Warriors slowly whittled the margin to single digits in the final eight minutes. NJCU tallied its final field goal of the game at 6:17, and continued leading 57-50 with 4:14 remaining, Sye made a layup at 3:35 before Nowlin added two free throws with 2:31 left to make it 57-54. Sophomore guard Anthony Watson (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Carroll) trimmed the deficit to 57-56 with 40.1 seconds remaining, before NJCU junior guard SHY MARTINEZ (Union City, NJ/Union Hill) converted 1-of-2 free throws with 14 seconds on the clock. Lycoming missed two field goals in the final 10 seconds, and Mirabel made a free throw with 2.0 seconds left to provide the final three-point margin.
NJCU had a 10-0 edge in fast-break scoring, but was out-rebounded (35-28) for the 10th time in 12 games, and the Warriors bench outscored NJCU’s reserves, 21-7.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
Newspaper Box Score New Jersey City University vs Lycoming College 01/05/07 6:00 pm at Reading, PA (George C. Bollman Center) At Reading, PA (George C. Bollman Center) NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY 59, LYCOMING COLLEGE 56 NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY (6-6) Kevin Tucker 6-9 1-5 15; Abraham Williams 5-9 2-5 12; Marques Hill 4-8 2-2 10; Alex Mirabel 4-9 1-2 9; Dana John 2-7 0-0 6; Shy Martinez 2-2 1-2 5; Divine Lyles 1-3 0-1 2; Jamal Slappy 0-1 0-0 0; Aaron Desir 0-0 0-0 0; Luis Dominguez 0-0 0-0 0; Josh Lopez 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-48 7-17 59. LYCOMING COLLEGE (6-5) Greg Sye 5-9 6-10 16; Jemayne Nowlin 3-10 5-7 13; Rickey Varnell 4-5 0-0 8; David Wilson 3-11 1-2 7; Matt McGair 2-3 1-3 5; Kevin Morris 2-7 0-0 5; Anthony Watson 1-2 0-1 2; Brandon Wilkinson 0-0 0-0 0; Trevor Whaley 0-1 0-0 0; Billy Goodell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-48 13-23 56. New Jersey City University.... 39 20 - 59 Lycoming College.............. 25 31 - 56 3-point goals--New Jersey City University 4-15 (Kevin Tucker 2-4; Dana John 2-6; Alex Mirabel 0-3; Divine Lyles 0-1; Jamal Slappy 0-1), Lycoming College 3-13 (Jemayne Nowlin 2-7; Kevin Morris 1-4; David Wilson 0-2). Fouled out--New Jersey City University-None, Lycoming College-Anthony Watson; Greg Sye. Rebounds--New Jersey City University 28 (Abraham Williams 6; Marques Hill 6), Lycoming College 35 (Matt McGair 8). Assists--New Jersey City University 15 (Alex Mirabel 6), Lycoming College 8 (Kevin Morris 3; Jemayne Nowlin 3). Total fouls--New Jersey City University 23, Lycoming College 18. Technical fouls--New Jersey City University-None, Lycoming College-None. A-218 Albright College/Sheraton-New Year's Tournament. NJCU will face w/o Albright or Penn in championship game at 4 p.m. on Jan. 6.