LINCOLN’S JOHN BUNCH TIES HIS OWN NCAA SINGLE-GAME RECORD WITH 18 BLOCKS
New Jersey City University rallied from a 19-point, 46-27 halftime deficit and an NCAA All-Divisions men’s record 18 blocked shots by Lincoln University (PA) sophomore center John Bunch, and held on to defeat the Lions in overtime, 76-75, in a non-conference men’s basketball game played at Cecil Community College (MD).
With the win, NJCU improves to 13-3 overall for the first time since the 1991-92 Final Four season when the Gothic Knights opened at 27-3. Lincoln, an independent program, dropped to 4-12 with the loss. This was the first meeting between these schools in men’s basketball since December 11, 1982. NJCU leads the all-time series, 5-0. NJCU is 32-12 all-time in program history in overtime games.
Two players scored 20 for NJCU, and two notched double-doubles. NJCU improved to 20-3 all-time when senior guard SAMAR BATTLE (East Orange, NJ/Clifford Scott) scores 20 or more in a game as the All-America candidate registered 20 points (8-of-21) and 15 rebounds, 12 on the offensive end, with two blocks in 40 minutes. The 15 rebounds tie a career-high.
Sophomore forward MARK WASHINGTON (East Orange, NJ/West Side) poured in 20 more points on 7-of-16 shooting and 4-of-10 from three-point territory. He added eight rebounds (five offensive) and three steals.
Freshman center ABRAHAM WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) contributed a game-high and career-best 17 rebounds (11 offensive) with 14 points and three steals.
Freshman forward RODNEY LIGON (Newark, NJ/University) recorded 13 points (6-of-18) and seven rebounds in 28 minutes, and made the play of the game with 47 seconds remaining and NJCU trailing 63-61, when he drove to the basket, and despite being hammered by Bunch, tied the game at 63-63 with a lay-up. He missed the potential go-ahead free-throw.
Lincoln’s 7-foot-2 Bunch, who originally set the NCAA record against Valley Forge Christian College on December 13 with 18 blocks before tying it tonight, completely changed the game with his size, forcing NJCU to shoot primarily from the perimeter. He had 10 blocks in 18 minutes in the first half alone. He rejected six more in the second period and two in overtime and finished with 18 blocks to equal his own NCAA All-Divisions men’s record.
He nearly had a triple-double, scoring 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and grabbing nine rebounds.
Andre Logan led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 6-of-7 from three-point range. He added six rebounds in 44 minutes.
Antonio Wright tallied 18 points (7-of-10) and grabbed 13 rebounds (nine defensive). Alexis Perez added 10 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for the Lions but committed seven of Lincoln’s 18 turnovers.
NJCU shot just .180 in the opening period on 9-of-50 shooting, while Lincoln made 20-of-31, for a .645 percentage, and a 46-27, 19-point halftime margin. The blocking of Bunch was the defensive punch that caused NJCU to finish the game shooting only .299 (29-of-97). The Knights won despite shooting just .342 at the line (13-of-38) and 5-of-22 from deep (.227).
The difference for NJCU was on the glass, where the Knights amazingly owned a 72-45 (+27) margin in rebounding, including an astounding 46-10 edge on the offensive end. That equated into a 47-10 difference in second-chance points for the Knights. NJCU also limited its turnovers to only 10.
Lincoln shot just 7-of-27 (.259) in the second period as NJCU clawed back into contention. The Lions finished at .484 for the game (31-of-64). Lincoln had 22 blocked shots as a team.
Leading by one, 11-10, the Lions went on an 11-0 run to grab an early double-figure lead before taking a 46-27 edge into the half. Trailing by 19 at the break, NJCU outscored the Lions 36-17 in the second stanza.
A pair of Washington treys twice got NJCU within 12, and a Williams’ offensive rebound and putback made if 57-47 with 10:40 left. Lincoln continued to lead by 11, 61-50, with 7:58 remaining on a Bunch dunk.
But NJCU outscored the Lions 13-2 the rest of the game, and did not allow another field goal in the second period. Ligon drove to the basket for a lay-up and a 61-55 game with 6:22 on the clock, and finished a Williams’ dish inside for a 62-57 contest with 3:48 remaining. After a Wright free throw made it 63-57 with 2:31 remaining, Williams took over. The rookie grabbed an offensive rebound and followed with a lay-up with 1:30 remaining to shave the deficit to 63-59. Then, with 1:06 left, Williams’ ripped an inbounds pass at half court out of the hands of Bunch, who held a 12-inch height advantage, and raced to the hoop for a fast-break bucket and a 63-61 score.
Ligon tied the fame with 47 seconds on the board, and after he missed the potential go-ahead free throw, Battle grabbed the rebound. Each club had the ball with a chance to go ahead in the final moments.
In overtime, Williams hit two free throws to give the Knights their first lead of the game. NJCU took a 70-67 lead on a Battle tip-in, but Logan hit one of his six treys to even the game at 70-70. Washington converted a pair of free throws with 1:31 left and sophomore guard KAREEM COLLINS (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) made it 74-70 with 1:08 remaining on a lay-up. Battle grabbed an offensive rebound and dropped in a lay-up with 21 ticks to go, for a 76-72 advantage. Logan hit a three with 13 seconds to trim
NJCU’s lead to 76-75. Lincoln had the ball with 3.7 seconds left but could not score.
NJCU returns to action on Wednesday, January 21 when the Knights host The College of New Jersey at 8pm in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game at the Athletic & Fitness Center.
-WWW.NJCU.EDU/GOKNIGHTS-
Newspaper Box Score New Jersey City U. vs Lincoln University (PA) 01/19/04 7 pm at North East, MD (at Cecil Community Coll) At North East, MD (at Cecil Community Coll) NEW JERSEY CITY U. 76, LINCOLN UNIVERSITY (PA) 75 NEW JERSEY CITY U. (13-3) Mark Washington 7-16 2-4 20; Samar Battle 8-21 4-13 20; Abraham Williams 5-16 4-10 14; Rodney Ligon 6-18 1-5 13; Kareem Collins 2-6 0-2 4; Javier Rodriguez 1-4 0-2 3; Harold Williams 0-6 2-2 2; Lamar Jones 0-1 0-0 0; Christopher Kates 0-1 0-0 0; Keith Middleton 0-0 0-0 0; Bo Agnan 0-3 0-0 0; Alex Mirabel 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 29-97 13-38 76. LINCOLN UNIVERSITY (PA) (4-12) Andre Logan 8-10 0-0 22; Antonio Wright 7-10 4-7 18; John Bunch 8-12 1-4 17; Alexis Perez 4-13 2-3 10; Michael Kearse 2-9 0-1 4; Steven Lee 1-2 0-0 2; Duane Mimms 1-1 0-0 2; Jermaine Gale 0-4 0-0 0; Linwood Gilmore 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 31-64 7-15 75. New Jersey City U............. 27 36 13 - 76 Lincoln University (PA)....... 46 17 12 - 75 3-point goals-New Jersey City U. 5-22 (Mark Washington 4-10; Javier Rodriguez 1-4; Rodney Ligon 0-2; Kareem Collins 0-2; Alex Mirabel 0-1; Samar Battle 0-3), Lincoln University (PA) 6-17 (Andre Logan 6-7; Alexis Perez 0-5; Michael Kearse 0-3; Jermaine Gale 0-2). Fouled out--New Jersey City U.-None, Lincoln University (PA)-None. Rebounds-New Jersey City U. 72 (Abraham Williams 17), Lincoln University (PA) 45 (Antonio Wright 13). Assists-New Jersey City U. 13 (Alex Mirabel 3), Lincoln University (PA) 15 (Alexis Perez 4; Michael Kearse 4). Total fouls-New Jersey City U. 16, Lincoln University (PA) 22. A-104 NJCU improves to 32-12 all-time in overtime games. NJCU begins season at 13-3 for first time since 1991-92 (27-3). John Bunch of Lincoln ties the NCAA All-Divisions single-game record for blocked shots in a game with 18. He set the record earlier this season.