RODNEY LIGON LIFTS NJCU LATE, AS KNIGHTS END GAME ON 13-4 RUN AND OUTLAST WILLIAM PATERSON, 62-58
New Jersey City University ended the game on a 13-4 run, and took the lead for good when freshman forward RODNEY LIGON (Newark, NJ/University) picked off a pass and finished a fast-break lay-up as part of a three-point play that lifted the Gothic Knights past William Paterson University, 62-58, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game at the Athletic & Fitness Center.
NJCU improves to 18-6 overall and 9-3 in the league. The Knights, who will be the No. 1 seed in the Blue Division and receive a first round bye when the NJAC Tournament begins on Tuesday, kept hope alive of being the top seed throughout the tournament. WPU (15-10, 6-7 NJAC), could have clinched a tournament berth with a win, but instead must wait to see if Montclair State loses one of its final two games. The College of New Jersey claimed the No. 2 seed in the Blue Division with the WPU defeat. NJCU faces MSU on Saturday, and in an ironic twist, would put WPU back in the tournament by winning that game.
NJCU swept the season series from the Pioneers for the first time since the 1994-95 season—the last time the Knights won the conference championship.
After leading the entire second half by as many as eight, WPU maintained a 55-49, six point lead with 4:46 remaining after WPU forward Khayri Battle (Newark, NJ/Bayley Ellard) fouled out. Three seconds later, NJCU ran the length of the court and after senior guard and All-America candidate SAMAR BATTLE (East Orange, NJ/Clifford Scott) posterized a Pioneer defender with an explosive dunk that brought the AFC crowd to its feet, he followed with a free throw that cut the lead to 56-53.
With 3:05 left, Ligon grabbed an offensive rebound and dropped in a lay-up to shave the lead to 55-54, and sophomore forward MARK WASHINGTON (East Orange, NJ/West Side) hit a jumper with 2:20 left that gave the Knights a 56-55 advantage, NJCU’s first lead since the 13:13 mark of the first half. A Pioneer free throw tied the game at 56-56 with 2:01 on the board.
After neither team scored over the next 1:25, Ligon took advantage of a Pioneer turnover, and raced the length of the court to give the Knights a 58-56 lead, and the edge for good with 35.4 remaining. He followed with a free throw, to make it 59-56 and after WPU hit one free throw with 22 seconds remaining, Washington converted 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch for the 62-58 final.
WPU did not score a field goal in the final 5:06 of regulation, and missed five of its last eight free throws.
The Pioneers led by eight at the half, 34-26. WPU had led 24-22 with 3:48 left in opening period, before a 10-1 run over the next 2:13 capped by a Khayri Battle lay-up at 1:35, gave the Pioneers the largest lead of the game for either team, a 34-23, 11-point margin.
Battle led the Knights with 15 points (6-of-16), with a game-high nine rebounds (five defensive) and two blocks in 38 minutes. Senior forward HAROLD WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/St. Aloysius) chipped in 10 points (3-of-5), while Washington finished with nine points and seven rebounds (five defensive). Ligon had eight (3-of-6), and sophomore guard KAREEM COLLINS (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) had seven points. Junior forward JAVIER RODRIGUEZ (Perth Amboy, NJ/Perth Amboy) grabbed seven rebounds (six defensive).
The Pioneers were led by senior guard Brandon Constantine (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) who notched a game-high 19 points (6-of-12 FG, 2-of-5 3 FG) and five rebounds in 39 minutes. Khayri Battle had 14 points and seven rebounds while shooting 6-of-11, and senior forward Rory Caswell (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) scored 11 of his 12 points in the first half. Junior guard Tim Benoit (Roselle, NJ/Roselle Catholic) handled seven rebounds, but only shot 1-of-9.
NJCU suffered a devastating loss with 8:03 left in regulation, when sophomore starting point guard ALEX MIRABEL (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) collided with Benoit on a loose ball, and never returned, after leaving with what is being described as a severe ankle injury.
Both teams shot below 37.5 percent for the game, with the
Knights making 37.3 percent (19-of-51) and just 2-of-18 from deep (11.1 %). WPU hit on 35.0 percent of its shots (21-60) and 25.0 from beyond the arc (3-of-12). Neither team converted more than 56.5 percent of its free throws.
NJCU shot 56.4 percent on 22-of-39, while the Pioneers made exactly half of theirs (13-of-26). NJCU had a slight rebounding margin, 42-40. Each team committed 18 turnovers.
NJCU closes out the regular season on Saturday, February 21 at 4pm in an NJAC game against Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ.
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Newspaper Box Score William Paterson vs New Jersey City U. 02/18/04 8 pm at Jersey City, NJ (Athletic & Fitness Ctr) At Jersey City, NJ (Athletic & Fitness Ctr) NEW JERSEY CITY U. 62, WILLIAM PATERSON 58 WILLIAM PATERSON (15-10, 6-7 NJAC) Brandon Constantine 6-12 5-6 19; Khayri Battle 6-11 1-4 14; Rory Caswell 5-11 2-4 12; Tim Benoit 1-9 2-2 4; Ricky Wallace 1-4 0-3 2; Dennis Harper 0-2 2-4 2; Mario Rivero 1-2 0-0 2; Nick Torres 1-4 0-0 2; Jharid Smith 0-3 1-3 1; Rashee Fleming 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-60 13-26 58. NEW JERSEY CITY U. (18-6, 9-3 NJAC) Samar Battle 6-16 2-6 15; Harold Williams 3-5 4-6 10; Mark Washington 3-4 3-6 9; Rodney Ligon 3-6 2-2 8; Kareem Collins 2-5 2-2 7; Mike Barry 0-3 5-8 5; Abraham Williams 2-4 0-0 4; Alex Mirabel 0-2 2-2 2; Javier Rodriguez 0-6 1-3 1; Christopher Kates 0-0 1-4 1; Lamar Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-51 22-39 62. William Paterson.............. 34 24 - 58 New Jersey City U............. 26 36 - 62 3-point goals-William Paterson 3-12 (Brandon Constantine 2-5; Khayri Battle 1-2; Tim Benoit 0-3; Ricky Wallace 0-1; Rashee Fleming 0-1), New Jersey City U. 2-18 (Samar Battle 1-7; Kareem Collins 1-2; Mark Washington 0-1; Rodney Ligon 0-1; Mike Barry 0-2; Javier Rodriguez 0-5). Fouled out--William Paterson-Tim Benoit; Rory Caswell; Khayri Battle, New Jersey City U.-None. Rebounds-William Paterson 40 (Khayri Battle 7; Tim Benoit 7), New Jersey City U. 42 (Samar Battle 9). Assists-William Paterson 11 (Jharid Smith 4), New Jersey City U. 13 (Samar Battle 3; Kareem Collins 3). Total fouls-William Paterson 29, New Jersey City U. 22. A-462 Final regular season home NJAC game in NJCU history.