The 60th meeting between New Jersey City University and Richard Stockton College in men’s basketball featured the only two schools still unbeaten in New Jersey Athletic Conference play this season. However, when the only regular season meeting between the clubs had been decided, it was NCU left standing, as the Gothic Knights defeated the Ospreys, 78-63, Saturday afternoon at the Stockton Sports Center.
New Jersey City improved to 12-3 overall and 4-0 in NJAC play, while extending its winning streak to three, and five of six. Stockton, which upended 18th ranked Kean, 65-52 on Wednesday, falls to 9-5 and 4-1.
The game was the 60th meeting between the two long-time NJAC rivals. NJCU is 36-24 all-time against the Ospreys and 18-13 in Pomona.
NJCU shot .704 in the second half (19-of-27) to finish at a season-high .582 from the field (32-of-55), the fourth time this season the Knights have shot better than 50 percent in a game.
NJCU was led by sophomore forward MARK WASHINGTON (East Orange, NJ/West Side) who had notched 20 points (8-of-12, 3-of-6 3FG) with five steals and four assists. Senior guard SAMAR BATTLE (East Orange, NJ/Clifford Scott), an All-America candidate who had led NJCU in scoring in the 10 previous games, tallied 14 points (6-of-13) with six rebounds and two blocks.
Also for the Knights, sophomore point guard ALEX MIRABEL (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) scored nine with four assists. Freshman center ABRAHAM WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) and senior forward HAROLD WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/St. Aloysius) each added eight.
Junior forward Brian Hiltner (Margate, NJ/Holy Spirit), who entered the game leading the NJAC in rebounding, had a game-high 26 points on 10-of-11 shooting, and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds in a losing cause for the Ospreys.
Junior guard Jose Rodriguez (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) and junior guard Jeff Williams (Jersey City, NJ/Snyder) each contributed 10 for Stockton. Rodriguez added six boards.
After NJCU took a 32-26 halftime lead into the locker room, the Ospreys were able to close the lead to 41-39 with 12:32 remaining. But Stockton, which led for only four possessions of the opening period, never came closer than four the rest of the way.
Battle’s fast-break lay-up with 11:41 left made it 45-39, and a Washington three from the left corner improved the score to 48-39.
Stockton trimmed the lead to 50-46 with 7:58 on the board, before a 12-2 run over the next 2:04 put the game out of reach with 5:54 left, as NJCU gained a 62-48 lead on a fast-break basket by freshman forward RODNEY LIGON (Newark, NJ University), after the Knights’ full-court press forced one of 22 RSC turnovers. NJCU, which committed 16 miscues, took advantage of the Ospreys’ mistakes with a 35-15 margin in points off turnovers.
NJCU led 69-57 with 2:51 left, before an 8-0 run gave the Knights their largest lead of the game, 77-57, with 58.1 seconds left, before the victors cleared the bench.
NJCU outscored RSC in the paint, 40-24. With NJCU missing few shots, Stockton owned the rebounding edge, 32-23. The Knights, who entered the game ranked 10th in Division III in rebounding margin, were out-rebounded for only the fifth time this season.
NJCU’s next contest is a non-conference meeting against Lincoln University (PA) that will be played in North East, MD on Monday, January 19 at 7pm.
-WWW.NJCU.EDU/GOKNIGHTS-
Newspaper Box Score New Jersey City vs Richard Stockton 01/17/04 2 pm at Pomona, NJ (Stockton Sports Center) At Pomona, NJ (Stockton Sports Center) NEW JERSEY CITY 78, RICHARD STOCKTON 63 NEW JERSEY CITY (12-3, 4-0 NJAC) Mark Washington 8-12 1-1 20; Samar Battle 6-13 0-1 14; Alex Mirabel 3-4 3-4 9; Abraham Williams 4-7 0-0 8; Harold Williams 4-7 0-0 8; Javier Rodriguez 3-4 0-0 7; Kareem Collins 2-3 3-3 7; Rodney Ligon 2-5 0-0 4; Mike Barry 0-0 1-2 1; 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; Keith Middleton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-55 8-11 78. RICHARD STOCKTON (9-5, 4-1 NJAC) Brian Hiltner 10-11 5-8 26; Jose Rodriguez 3-7 2-2 10; Jeff Williams 4-12 2-4 10; Tobias Smith 2-4 3-3 7; Kevin Vaughn 3-8 0-0 6; Boo Evans 1-3 0-0 2; Aaron Wright 1-4 0-0 2; Mike Conover 0-0 0-0 0; Sean Fagan 0-0 0-0 0; Rob Freeney 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 24-53 12-17 63. New Jersey City............... 32 46 - 78 Richard Stockton.............. 26 37 - 63 3-point goals-New Jersey City 6-16 (Mark Washington 3-6; Samar Battle 2-5; Javier Rodriguez 1-2; Rodney Ligon 0-2; Alex Mirabel 0-1), Richard Stockton 3-13 (Jose Rodriguez 2-5; Brian Hiltner 1-1; Tobias Smith 0-1; Boo Evans 0-1; Rob Freeney 0-1; Jeff Williams 0-4). Fouled out--New Jersey City-None, Richard Stockton-None. Rebounds-New Jersey City 23 (Samar Battle 6), Richard Stockton 32 (Brian Hiltner 8). Assists-New Jersey City 20 (Alex Mirabel 4; Mark Washington 4), Richard Stockton 13 (Boo Evans 5). Total fouls-New Jersey City 16, Richard Stockton 15. A-200 NJCU leads all-time series, 36-24. 60th meeting between these schools. NJCU is the only remaining team unbeaten in NJAC play this season. Samar Battle's streak of 10 straight games as the leading scorer ends.