NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY WINS THE 2004 NEW JERSEY ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP, 88-75, OVER ROWAN
GOTHIC KNIGHTS RECEIVE AN AUTOMATIC BID TO THE NCAA DIVISION III TOURNAMENT AND WIN A RECORD 11TH NJAC CHAMPIONSHIP
New Jersey City University received a game-high 22 points from senior guard and All-America candidate SAMAR BATTLE (East Orange, NJ/Clifford Scott), the 2004 NJAC Player of the Year, as the Gothic Knights led nearly the entire evening before defeating Rowan University, 88-75, to win the 2004 New Jersey Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship and earn an automatic bid to the 2004 NCAA Division III Tournament. The NJAC crown is a record 11th for NJCU, which was deadlocked with Rowan at 10 titles each entering the game.
NJCU, which had four players in double figures, has won four straight games to improve to 21-6. The NJAC championship for the Gothic Knights is their first in any sport since 1994-95, the last year that the men’s basketball team won the crown. NJCU advances to the NCAA Tournament for the 16th time since 1973, and the first time since the 1998-99 campaign. The NCAA Tournament bracket will be unveiled Sunday night at 10 pm, with first and second round games being held Thursday and Saturday.
Rowan (21-6) will wait to see if they receive an at-large bid to the NCAA’s. NJCU swept both of its meetings with Rowan this season. This was the eighth meeting between the schools in the NJAC Tournament, but the first ever in the finals. Rowan is 5-3 against the Knights in the league tournament.
Battle, the conference Player of the Year, scored 20 or more points in a game for the 15th time this season, and for a third straight game. NJCU is 14-1 when he does this season, and his team is 26-3 all-time when he reaches the threshold. He scored 22 on 7-of-12 shooting and 4-of-6 from three-point range, grabbed six rebounds (five defensive) and rejected a season-high five blocks in 38 minutes.
The Knights also received a career-high 21 points from sophomore point guard KAREEM COLLINS (Hillside, NJ/Hillside), who shot 6-of-10 from the floor and 8-of-13 from the line. He added four assists and three steals in 28 minutes off the bench. Sophomore forward and Second-Team All-NJAC selection MARK WASHINGTON (East Orange, NJ/West Side) tallied 17 points (7-of-11), six rebounds, and four steals in only 24 minutes. Senior point guard
MIKE BARRY (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne), who began the year as NJCU’s third-string point guard, and was making only the fifth start of his career, again came up big. He recorded 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, and had three assists. And after not having a block in the first 77 games of his career and achieving his first in the NJAC Semifinals on Thursday, Barry, a 5-11 guard, stuffed two shots tonight as NJCU tallied nine blocks as a team.
Rowan also had four players reach double figures, led by senior guard Earle Agee (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Regional), who matched Battle by scoring a game-high 22 points on 8-of-21 shooting and 6-of-11 from three-point range. He had 13 at the half. Senior guard Tylee Thomas (Wildwood, NJ/Wildwood) added 17 points (6-of-15), a game-high nine rebounds (eight defensive), and four steals in 35 minutes before fouling out.
Also contributing for the Profs was junior center Brandon King (Sicklerville, NJ/Washington Township) who had 14 points (7-of-9 FG) and five rebounds, and junior guard Ryan Cochrane (Howell, NJ/Pemberton) finished with 11 points (4-of-9 FG), a game-best nine assists, and six rebounds, while giving away five turnovers.
NJCU shot lights out from the field in the second half, knocking down 76 percent of its shots (19-of-25) to break open a one-point, 33-32 home margin at the half. The Knights finished shooting 57.4 percent for the game (31-of-54), and 60.0 percent (9-of-15) from three-point range.
Rowan made 42.3 percent of its shots (30-of-71). The Profs also out-rebounded the Knights, 39-30, but a majority of those were on the offensive glass (16-5, Rowan), where NJCU didn’t need second chances due to a great first-chance shooting effort. Rowan had a 21-1 margin on second chance points. Both teams committed 22 turnovers, and NJCU translated that into a 27-17 edge in points off miscues. Rowan doubled NJCU’s paint output (44-22).
In the first half, NJCU opened up a 17-9 lead before a 10-2 Profs streak tied the game at 19-19. A King tip-in at 4:20 gave Rowan its largest lead of the game, 28-22, and Thomas converted a lay-up to keep the score at 30-24.
However, NJCU uncorked a 9-2 run to finish the half, and led 33-32 at the break. Battle, who scored his first point of the evening on a fast-break dunk with 3:08 led in the opening half, later drained back-to-back treys, and tied the game at 30-30 with 58 seconds on the board. With 4.8 seconds left in the period, Collins made a nifty spin move to the basket and was fouled, and NJCU’s sixth-man converted the three-point play to give NJCU the lead for good.
In the second half, NJCU’s lead fluctuated between one and eight points, and the Knights lead stood at 62-58 with 7:20 left. One more time, a Gothic Knight run made the difference in the game, as the NJAC Champions unleashed an 11-0 scoring torrent to pull away. NJCU went ahead 68-58 at 5:43 on a fall away jumper by Battle, followed by another jumper by the senior for a 70-58 edge. Washington, who hit a turnaround jumper at 6:06 that made it an eight-point lead, capped the run with a steal and fast-break lay-up at 3:54 that swelled the margin to 73-58. Rowan tried to exploit NJCU’s known weakness—its free throw shooting. But the strategy did not work, as the Knights sank 11-of-16 at the line in the final 2:27 of play.
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NEW JERSEY CITY-ROWAN POSTGAME QUOTES
NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY
Head Coach Charles Brown
Q: “What made the difference in the game?”
A: “We did a better job defensively in the second half. We made the shots we needed to make, and we limited our turnovers [to nine in the second half].”
Q: “What are you thoughts on the outcome?”
A: “I’m so happy for the team, the coaching staff, and the University. This is an incredible feeling. I’m ecstatic!”
Q: On the NCAA Division III Tournament:
A: “We don’t know who we’re going play, and we don’t care who we’re going play. All we’re thinking about is doing our best to represent the University, and the NJAC. This win was like getting the cake. We got the cake, and the NCAA’s is the icing on the cake”
#20 Samar Battle (senior/guard/East Orange, NJ/Clifford Scott; 2004 NJAC Player of the Year)
Q: “What made the difference in the game?”
A: “Our defensive rebounding in the second half. We contained their three-point shooting, and that helped us.”
Q: “What are you thoughts on the outcome?”
A: “It’s a great feeling. This is my fourth year, and I remember when I played here my first season, losing to William Paterson [in the 2001 NJAC Championship Game] was hard for me. But this feels good. It’s a great way to go out. I came in this season and some people doubted I would finish the entire season, but I was able to overcome that.”
Q: On the NCAA Division III Tournament:
A: We know it’s a task, but if we come out and continue to play hard, we know we can win.”
#25 Kareem Collins (sophomore/guard/Hillside, NJ/Hillside)
Q: “What made the difference in the game?”
A: “We stepped up the second half. We started to pressure the ball, and that helped create the [10] turnovers we needed. We converted on our lay-ups, and that was something we needed to do.”
Q: “What are you thoughts on the outcome?”
A: “It was a great win. We went through some struggles, such as losing our starting point guard [Alex Mirabel with a season-ending broken ankle against William Paterson University on February 18], but everyone stepped up and contributed.”
Q: On the NCAA Division III Tournament:
A “We can go as far as we take ourselves. We can do anything as a team, as long as we work together.”
ROWAN UNIVERSITY
Head Coach Joe Cassidy
Q: “What made the difference in the game?”
A: “There was a combination of things. We didn’t make the routine plays that we should have made. We were outplayed, especially in the second half.”
Q: “What are you thoughts on the outcome?”
A: “Well I am disappointed. [Samar] Battle is and excellent player and Jersey City is a hell of a team.”
Q: On Rowan’s chances of receiving an at-large NCAA Tournament bid:
A: “If we get a call and were invited to go then that would be great.”
(Compiled by NJCU Sports Information Assistants Robert Wittek and Patrick Moore).
Newspaper Box Score Rowan University vs New Jersey City U. 02/28/04 7 pm at Jersey City, NJ (Athletic & Fitness Ctr) At Jersey City, NJ (Athletic & Fitness Ctr) NEW JERSEY CITY U. 88, ROWAN UNIVERSITY 75 ROWAN UNIVERSITY (21-6) Earle Agee 8-21 0-0 22; Tylee Thomas 6-15 4-6 17; Brandon King 7-9 0-0 14; Ryan Cochrane 4-9 3-4 11; Joe Wendel 4-5 0-0 8; Evan Johnson 1-7 0-0 2; Dwayne Reevey 0-1 1-2 1; Bob Weir 0-3 0-0 0; Timothy Bowser 0-0 0-0 0; Steve Thomas 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-71 8-12 75. NEW JERSEY CITY U. (21-6) Samar Battle 7-12 4-5 22; Kareem Collins 6-10 8-13 21; Mark Washington 7-11 2-3 17; Mike Barry 4-6 1-3 11; Rodney Ligon 3-6 0-0 6; Abraham Williams 2-4 2-3 6; Javier Rodriguez 1-1 0-1 3; Christopher Kates 1-1 0-0 2; Harold Williams 0-3 0-0 0; Bo Agnan 0-0 0-0 0; Lamar Jones 0-0 0-0 0; Arshen Hunter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-54 17-28 88. Rowan University.............. 32 43 - 75 New Jersey City U............. 33 55 - 88 3-point goals-Rowan University 7-20 (Earle Agee 6-11; Tylee Thomas 1-4; Ryan Cochrane 0-1; Dwayne Reevey 0-1; Bob Weir 0-2; Steve Thomas 0-1), New Jersey City U. 9-15 (Samar Battle 4-6; Mike Barry 2-3; Kareem Collins 1-2; Mark Washington 1-1; Javier Rodriguez 1-1; Rodney Ligon 0-2). Fouled out--Rowan University-Tylee Thomas, New Jersey City U.-None. Rebounds-Rowan University 39 (Tylee Thomas 9), New Jersey City U. 30 (Samar Battle 6; Mark Washington 6). Assists-Rowan University 15 (Ryan Cochrane 9), New Jersey City U. 15 (Kareem Collins 4). Total fouls-Rowan University 25, New Jersey City U. 12. A-402 2004 NEW JERSEY ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. NJCU WINS THE 2004 NJAC CHAMPIONSHIP AND EARNS AN AUTOMATIC BID TO THE 2004 NCAA DIVISION III TOURNAMENT. NJCU WINS AN NJAC RECORD 11TH CONFERENCE TITLE AND ITS FIRST SINCE 1994-95. NJCU IS 14-1 THIS SEASON WHEN BATTLE SCORES 20+.