Senior guard Derrick Holley (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) converted a pair of free-throws with 7.9 seconds remaining as #10 ranked Ramapo College, which led by as many as 13 in the first half, survived for a one-point, 74-73 win against rival New Jersey City University, Monday at the John J. Moore Athletic and Fitness Center.
The win for the Roadrunners (18-2) extends their winning streak to 13 games, and 16-out-of-17. The loss for NJCU (14-7) snaps its 13-game home court winning streak, and six-game run overall.
The loss at home, where NJCU is now 8-1 this season, was its first since falling to Montclair State on February 4, 2004. NJCU entered the game having won 10-of-12.
New Jersey City University junior swingman MARK WASHINGTON (East Orange, NJ/West Side) led the Gothic Knights with 15 points (5-14), with six rebounds and three assists, but played only 24 minutes and seven in the first half after picking up two fouls. He now has 991 career points, nine shy of becoming the 25th member of the 1000-point club.
Freshman point guard CHARLES COLES (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) had 13 points (4-6), while hitting 3-of-5 from three-point range. Sophomore center ABRAHAM WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) collected 11 points (3-11), nine rebounds, and three assists, while freshman forward ANTOINNE MORGANO (Newark, NJ/University) contributed 10 points (3-8) and seven boards off the bench. Sophomore forward DEVIN DAVIS (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Regional) grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds (seven offensive), with six points (3-6) and four blocks.
Ramapo was led by senior guard Amin Wright (Jersey City, NJ/Ferris), who matched a game-high with 15 points (5-13), and had eight rebounds.
In all four RCNJ players reached double figures. Sophomore center Rashawn Wilson (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) collected 13 points (5-7) and seven boards, while sophomore guard Antoine Pryor (Elizabeth, NJ/Saint Patrick) finished with 12 points (4-12), and three steals. Holley had 10 points (3-7), six rebounds, three steals and 4-for-4 at the line in 24 reserve minutes.
In a very physical game where a combined 56 fouls were whistled (RCNJ 31, NJCU 25), the Knights struggled from the field in the opening period, shooting 8-of-27 (.216) and 1-for-11 from long range (.091). RCNJ hit 12-of-32 in the period (12-32), and 2-of-11 from deep (.182). However, the game was tied 8-8 at 13:21. That’s the moment that Washington, an All-America candidate for NJCU, pick up his second foul and did not return in the period.
RCNJ took advantage with a 10-0 run, and led by as many as 13 twice, including 27-14 with 5:12 left as Holley picked off a pass and completed a fast-break lay-up. Ramapo led 32-22 at the break.
NJCU battled back to trim the lead to two at 16:00 when senior guard JAVIER RODRIGUEZ (Perth Amboy, NJ/Perth Amboy) nailed a three, and cut it to 42-21, when Davis grabbed an offensive board in mid-air and slammed in the monster dunk.
RCNJ answered and led 49-41 at 12:23 when Wilson made the front end of two free throws. Four free throws by senior forward Eliazar Velez (West New York, NJ/Memorial) in a less than a minute kept the margin at eight, 53-45, at 10:14.
Again, NJCU responded, shaved the deficit to one at 7:36 with a Coles three, and tied the contest at 57-57 when Morgano sank his opening free throw. Another Coles three gave NJCU its first lead of the second half, 62-59, at 5:07, and a Washington trey at 3:53 put the hosts in front, 66-61.
Pryor hit a three at 2:53, and Wright and Wilson hit the back end of freebies at 2:04 and 1:29 to tie it at 1:29. Between the plays, Davis picked off a pass but turned it over at 1:45 trying to open up a teammate on the right baseline.
Coles made it 69-68 at 1:21 with a free throw, before Wright drove the lane and hit a jumper at 56.5 for a 70-69 score. Washington canned two free throws at 39.4 to give NJCU a 71-70 edge, before Wright put RCNJ back on top at 27.3, when he drove from the right baseline to the left of the rim and finished a dazzling reverse lay-up. Davis hit a spinning jumper off the window with 15 ticks left, before Holley took advantage of a reach-in foul and hit both chances from the line. After NJCU nearly lost the ball, Washington’s final three from the right wing with 1.5 left looked good, but drew back iron.
RCNJ finished shooting .417 (25-60) and 3-of-14 from deep (.214). NJCU made .329 of its shots (23-70), including 45.5 percent in the second half (15-33) as the Knights outscored Ramapo in the period, 51-42. NJCU owned a 51-43 margin on the boards, including 26-15 on the offensive glass, which resulted in a 26-14 difference in second chance points for NJCU. The Knights also had a 38-24 leeway in bench scoring. Each team committed 24 turnovers. NJCU shot 20-of-33 from the line (.606), versus 21-of-32 for RCNJ (.656).
NJCU returns to action on Wednesday, February 9 at 8pm against Briarcliffe College in its fifth of six straight home games. Ramapo hosts Rutgers-Newark on Wednesday at the Bradley Center.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
Newspaper Box Score Ramapo College (NJ) vs New Jersey City University 02/07/05 8 pm at Jersey City, NJ (JJM Ath. & Fitness Ctr) At Jersey City, NJ (JJM Ath. & Fitness Ctr) RAMAPO COLLEGE (NJ) 74, NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY 73 RAMAPO COLLEGE (NJ) (18-2) Amin Wright 5-13 5-9 15; Rashawn Wilson 5-7 2-4 13; Antoine Pryor 4-12 2-2 12; Derrick Holley 3-7 4-4 10; Todd Lowber 4-6 0-0 8; Eliazar Velez 1-4 6-7 8; Quameir Harding 2-4 2-2 6; Benjamin Allen 1-3 0-0 2; Shawn Frost 0-1 0-0 0; Noel Colon 0-2 0-4 0; John Wojcik 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-60 21-32 74. NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY (14-7) Mark Washington 5-14 4-6 15; Charles Coles 4-6 2-4 13; Abraham Williams 3-11 5-7 11; Antoinne Morgano 3-8 4-7 10; Ben Balcom 2-6 2-3 7; Devin Davis 3-6 0-0 6; Rajahn Jones 2-2 0-0 5; Javier Rodriguez 1-7 0-0 3; Sanni Ojibara 0-3 2-3 2; Rob Freeney 0-3 1-3 1; Will Morris 0-2 0-0 0; James Kaiser 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-70 20-33 73. Ramapo College (NJ)........... 32 42 - 74 New Jersey City University.... 22 51 - 73 3-point goals-Ramapo College (NJ) 3-14 (Antoine Pryor 2-7; Rashawn Wilson 1-1; Benjamin Allen 0-1; John Wojcik 0-1; Derrick Holley 0-2; Amin Wright 0-2), New Jersey City University 7-25 (Charles Coles 3-5; Ben Balcom 1-4; Javier Rodriguez 1-5; Mark Washington 1-7; Rajahn Jones 1-1; Sanni Ojibara 0-2; Devin Davis 0-1). Fouled out--Ramapo College (NJ)-Quameir Harding, New Jersey City University-None. Rebounds-Ramapo College (NJ) 43 (Amin Wright 8), New Jersey City University 51 (Devin Davis 11). Assists-Ramapo College (NJ) 8 (Quameir Harding 3), New Jersey City University 12 (Mark Washington 3; Abraham Williams 3). Total fouls-Ramapo College (NJ) 31, New Jersey City University 25. A-504 Ramapo College ranked No. 10 in Division III in latest D3Hoops.com poll. Ramapo winning streak extends to 13 games. NJCU's home-court winning streak (13) and overall winning streak (6) snapped. NJCU's Mark Washington scores 15; needs nine for 1000.