MARK WASHINGTON IGNITES NEW JERSEY CITY OVER WILLIAM PATERSON, 69-58
Sophomore forward MARK WASHINGTON (East Orange, NJ/West Side) scored 18 points and sophomore point guard ALEX MIRABEL (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) added 14 more as New Jersey City University, the first place team in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, moved one step closer to clinching a berth, and potential number one seed in the conference tournament later this month, with a 69-58 win over rival William Paterson University, Monday evening at the WPU Rec Center. The game was a make-up of a Wednesday, January 28 snow postponement.
New Jersey City improves to 16-4 and 7-1 in the NJAC, and has won six of its last seven. William Paterson (13-8, 4-5) has lost three straight. WPU had won the last four in this series, and the previous six in Wayne. NJCU earned its first road win in the series since December 10, 1997.
Washington scored his 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and 4-of-8 from three-point territory. He grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, with four steals in 38 minutes. Mirabel made 3-of-5 from the field in 37 minutes, including a key fall-away jumper in the lane late in the second half to keep the lead at 10, 64-54, with 1:26 left. And while NJCU has struggled recently from the line as a team, he made 7-of-7 in the game.
Freshman center ABRAHAM WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) tacked on 11 points (4-of-7) and matched a game-high with eight boards.
Senior guard and All-America candidate SAMAR BATTLE (East Orange, NJ/Clifford Scott) scored a season-low six points (3-of-12), his lowest output since his sophomore season and the only time this year he has failed to reach double figures. Despite the low scoring, he passed current assistant coach DARREN WATKINS to move into the Top 10 in scoring in school history with 1319 points. Watkins scored 1318 from 1998-92. Next on the list for Battle is head coach CHARLES BROWN. Brown, in his 22nd year at his alma mater, is ninth on the scoring list with 1324 points in a three-year career (1962-65).
Senior guard Brandon Constantine (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) paced the Pioneers with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-16, and added five rebounds. Senior guard Khayri Battle (Newark, NJ/Bayley-Ellard) contributed 19 (7-of-15) and four steals, but coughed up six turnovers. No other WPU player scored in double figures or had more than five rebounds.
NJCU and WPU had comparable shooting efforts, with the Knights hitting 43.8 (21-of-48), including 50.0 in the second half (10-of-20), and the Pioneers finishing at 42.6 percent (23-of-54). While NJCU shot over 50 percent in the second half, it was the Pioneers reaching 52.4 percent (11-of-21) in the opening period. NJCU had a commanding 41-23 advantage on the glass, including 22-12 on defense. NJCU had a 14-8 edge in second chance points. There were 45 combined turnovers in the game (NJCU 25, WPU 20).
William Paterson grabbed a 12-4 lead out of the gates, before the Knights caught up, and finally took a 26-25 lead with 3:47 left in the first half on a Mirabel trey.
NJCU led 33-29 with 3.1 seconds remaining in the first half, when WPU grabbed a defensive rebound, and thinking the half had ended, walking to the sideline with the ball. In fact, there was still 1.5 on the board, and the Knights capitalized on the mental mistake, as Washington sank a trey from the right arc at the buzzer.
NJCU held the lead the entire second half. WPU came within four, 44-40, at 14:52, before a 7-0 run made it 51-40, one of four 11-point margins in the game for the Knights.
NJCU returns to action on Wednesday, February 05 at 8pm when the Knights host Montclair State University in an NJAC Blue Division game at the Athletic & Fitness Center.
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Newspaper Box Score New Jersey City vs William Paterson 02/02/04 8 pm at Wayne, NJ (Rec Center) At Wayne, NJ (Rec Center) NEW JERSEY CITY 69, WILLIAM PATERSON 58 NEW JERSEY CITY (16-4, 7-1 NJAC) Mark Washington 6-11 2-4 18; Alex Mirabel 3-5 7-7 14; Abraham Williams 4-7 3-4 11; Kareem Collins 2-8 3-5 7; Samar Battle 3-12 0-2 6; Javier Rodriguez 1-3 3-4 5; Harold Williams 2-2 0-0 4; Bo Agnan 0-0 2-2 2; Lamar Jones 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 21-48 22-30 69. WILLIAM PATERSON (13-8, 4-5 NJAC) Brandon Constantine 9-16 2-2 21; Khayri Battle 7-15 4-5 19; Jharid Smith 3-7 1-2 7; Rory Caswell 3-7 0-0 6; Tim Benoit 1-3 3-3 5; Luis Martinez 0-0 0-0 0; Nick Torres 0-0 0-1 0; Ricky Wallace 0-0 0-0 0; Mario Rivero 0-4 0-0 0; Jason Vieira 0-0 0-0 0; Robert Simpkins 0-0 0-0 0; Rashee Fleming 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 10-13 58. New Jersey City............... 36 33 - 69 William Paterson.............. 29 29 - 58 3-point goals-New Jersey City 5-15 (Mark Washington 4-8; Alex Mirabel 1-1; Kareem Collins 0-2; Samar Battle 0-3; Javier Rodriguez 0-1), William Paterson 2-10 (Brandon Constantine 1-6; Khayri Battle 1-1; Tim Benoit 0-1; Mario Rivero 0-1; Rashee Fleming 0-1). Fouled out--New Jersey City-None, William Paterson-None. Rebounds-New Jersey City 41 (Abraham Williams 8; Mark Washington 8), William Paterson 23 (Brandon Constantine 5). Assists-New Jersey City 11 (Kareem Collins 3), William Paterson 10 (Jharid Smith 3). Total fouls-New Jersey City 16, William Paterson 22. A-425