NEW JERSEY CITY TO PLAY FOR 2004 NEW JERSEY ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
GOTHIC KNIGHTS BEAT WILLIAM PATERSON, 85-72, IN NJAC SEMIFINALS
New Jersey City University has won a record 10 New Jersey Athletic Conference championships in men’s basketball. Rowan University has also won 10 titles, to match the Gothic Knights. Saturday, the two long-time conference rivals will square off with one team claiming an 11th crown.
NJCU jumped ahead early in the first half and trailed for only 12 seconds all night as five players reached double figures and the Gothic Knights defeated William Paterson University, 85-72, in an NJAC Tournament semifinal game Thursday at the Athletic & Fitness Center. NJCU wins its third consecutive game to improve to 20-6 on the season, as the Knights win 20 games in a season for the 12th time in school history. The Pioneers’ season ends at 16-11 with the defeat.
NJCU will host Rowan University for the 2004 NJAC title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament on Saturday, February 28 at 7pm. The Profs advanced to the title game by virtue of an 84-74 win over The College of New Jersey. NJCU, the number one overall seed in the six-team NJAC Tournament and Rowan, the second seed, each
ended the regular season with 10-3 league records, but the Knights routed Rowan, 85-65, in their only regular season meeting on December 10 in Jersey City, to score the tie-breaker and earn home court throughout the NJAC’s.
NJCU’s win over the Pioneers also marks the first time since the 1985-86 campaign that the Knights swept three games from its rival in one season. NJCU also earned a 69-58 win in Wayne on February 2 and a 62-58 decision in Jersey City on February 18.
The Knights were paced by senior guard and All-America candidate SAMAR BATTLE (East Orange, NJ/Clifford Scott) who scored 20 points in a game for the 14th time this season, as the 2004 NJAC Player of the Year led the way for NJCU with 20 points (8-of-14), four rebounds, and two blocks in 33 minutes. The 20-point outing is the 28th of his career, and NJCU improves to 25-3 all-time, 12-0 at home, and 13-1 this year when he reaches the mark.
Sophomore forward and Second-Team All-NJAC selection MARK WASHINGTON (East Orange, NJ/West Side) nearly had a triple double, as he notched 16 points (6-of-14), tied his career high with 10 assists, and grabbed nine rebounds (seven defensive) in 36 minutes.
Senior point guard MIKE BARRY (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne), making only the fourth start of his career (in place of injured sophomore guard ALEX MIRABEL), posted a season-high 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three-point territory in 18 minutes of action. Sophomore guard KAREEM COLLINS (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) chipped in 14 (5-of-9), three assists, and three steals, and freshman center ABRAHAM WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) tacked on 11 points (3-of-6), seven rebounds, and two blocks.
WPU received game-highs of 23 points (10-of-21) and 14 rebounds (12 rebounds) from senior guard Khayri Battle (Newark, NJ/Bayley-Ellard). In addition to his double-double, he dished five assists in 32 minutes. Senior guard Brandon Constantine (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) finished his career with 19 points in 39 minutes. He hit 12-of-12 from the line, but struggled from the field, converting just 3-of-13.
Both teams shots over 50.0 percent from the field in the first half, with the Knights making 53.3 percent of their shots (16-of-30) while building a 39-30 lead at the break. The Pioneers made 12-of-24 in the period. Battle scored six of NJCU’s first nine points, including two steals that led to fast-break dunks, and a 9-2 home lead. After WPU battled back to tie the game and take a brief one-point lead, 10-9, NJCU went on a 10-0 tear to regain a nine-point, 19-10 edge. The Pioneers used a 10-2 run to trim the margin to 30-28 with 4:34 left in the half, before the Knights extended the score to 37-28.
In the second half, Barry hit the second of his two treys of the half at 13:36 as the Knights continued to lead by double-figures, 50-38, with 13:36 left. WPU chipped away at the NJCU lead over the next six minutes, and Khayri Battle shaved the deficit to four with a free throw at 7:26, 57-53.
Down the stretch, WPU tried to exploit NJCU’s one glaring weakness—its free throw shooting. NJCU entered the game shooting 55.0 percent from the line this year, which was by far the lowest in the league. The strategy backfired, as NJCU made 9-of-10 freebies in a 2:04 stretch, and again pulled ahead by double digits, 68-58, with 3:58 left. At 3:01, Collins converted a wide open lay-up, was fouled, and made the free throw, to give NJCU a 73-60 advantage.
At that point, the Knights were shooting 85.0 percent (17-of-20) at the stripe. The Pioneers kept NJCU at the line in the final minutes, and the Knights led by as many as 16, 84-68, with 39 seconds left, before prevailing by 13.
NJCU finished shooting 48.1 percent for the game (26-of-54), and 71.1 percent from the line (27-of-38), while the Pioneers made 44.3 percent of their shots (27-of-61) and 71.4 from the charity stripe (15-of-21). Each team had 36 rebounds. The Pioneers coughed up 18 turnovers, compared to 15 by the home team, and NJCU capitalized, racking up a 20-4 margin in fast-break points.
-WWW.NJCU.EDU/GOKNIGHTS-
Newspaper Box Score William Paterson University vs New Jersey City U. 02/26/04 7 pm at Jersey City, NJ (Athletic & Fitness Ctr) At Jersey City, NJ (Athletic & Fitness Ctr) NEW JERSEY CITY U. 85, WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY 72 WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY (16-11) Khayri Battle 10-21 1-4 23; Brandon Constantine 3-13 12-12 19; Rory Caswell 3-6 1-2 7; Nick Torres 3-3 0-0 6; Tim Benoit 3-4 0-1 6; Dennis Harper 2-4 0-0 4; Ricky Wallace 1-4 1-2 3; Luis Martinez 1-3 0-0 2; Rashee Fleming 1-3 0-0 2; Mario Rivero 0-0 0-0 0; Andrew Ignaffo 0-0 0-0 0; Robert Simpkins 0-0 0-0 0; Jharid Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-61 15-21 72. NEW JERSEY CITY U. (20-6) Samar Battle 8-14 4-5 20; Mark Washington 6-14 2-2 16; Mike Barry 4-9 3-4 15; Kareem Collins 5-9 4-9 14; Abraham Williams 3-6 5-8 11; Javier Rodriguez 0-1 7-8 7; Rodney Ligon 0-1 2-2 2; Harold Williams 0-0 0-0 0; Bo Agnan 0-0 0-0 0; Lamar Jones 0-0 0-0 0; Arshen Hunter 0-0 0-0 0; Christopher Kates 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-54 27-38 85. William Paterson University... 30 42 - 72 New Jersey City U............. 39 46 - 85 3-point goals-William Paterson University 3-13 (Khayri Battle 2-5; Brandon Constantine 1-6; Dennis Harper 0-1; Luis Martinez 0-1), New Jersey City U. 6-16 (Mike Barry 4-5; Mark Washington 2-6; Javier Rodriguez 0-1; Kareem Collins 0-1; Samar Battle 0-3). Fouled out--William Paterson University-Dennis Harper; Rashee Fleming, New Jersey City U.-None. Rebounds-William Paterson University 36 (Khayri Battle 14), New Jersey City U. 36 (Mark Washington 9). Assists-William Paterson University 11 (Khayri Battle 5), New Jersey City U. 21 (Mark Washington 10). Total fouls-William Paterson University 30, New Jersey City U. 17. A-405 2004 NEW JERSEY ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS. NJCU defeats William Paterson three times in 1 yr for 1st time since 1985-86. NJCU wins 20 games in a season for the 12th time in school. NJCU will host Rowan University for 2004 NJAC Championship Saturday at 7pm.