Freshman swingman Jamale Foster (Newburgh, NY) scored 30 points and hauled down 13 rebounds and Mitchell College shot 50.8 percent from the field (30-59) as the Pequots shocked New Jersey City University, 74-73, Wednesday in an independent men’s basketball game. There were 17 lead changes and 12 ties in the contest.
NJCU, which crushed Mitchell, 80-52 in the initial meeting of the season between the schools in Jersey City on February 3, falls to 16-9 overall, and may have lost its hope of earning a Pool B bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Mitchell, which evens the all-time series at 1-1, is 5-13 this year against four-year schools.
In defeat, NJCU junior swingman MARK WASHINGTON (East Orange, NJ/West Side) posted 22 points and matched his career high with 15 rebounds in 35 minutes.
Only six players saw action for Mitchell, and half scored at least 17. Foster, who did not play when the teams met on February 3, shot 12-of-17, including 5-of-6 from three-point range, had eight of his 13 rebounds on the defensive glass, and picked four steals in 37 minutes.
Sophomore guard Thaddeus Smith (Wallkill, NY/Wallkill Senior) added 18 points (8-19) in 36 minutes, and junior center James Dunleavy (Fair Haven, VT) collected 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, with five rebounds, and two blocks. Junior point guard David Andrade (Brockton, MA/Brockton) delivered 12 assists and had five steals while playing all 40 minutes, but committed 10 turnovers.
For NJCU, sophomore forward DEVIN DAVIS (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Regional) tallied 14 points (7-12), eight rebounds, four blocks, and three steals, while freshman forward ANTOINNE MORGANO (Newark, NJ/University) had 13 points (5-12), eight rebounds (six offensive) and three steals. Junior point guard ROB FREENEY (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) delivered seven assists and had three steals. NJCU was playing without starting center ABRAHAM WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln), who did not make the three-hour trip with an injury.
A back-and-forth game in the first half stood tied at 34-34 at the break, as Foster nailed a three with 1:00 remaining in the period for the sixth deadlock of the stanza.
The game continued to be in flux throughout most of the second half. NJCU led 61-59 with 8:25 left after a Washington lay-up, but Smith tied it at 61-61—the fifth tie of the period at 7:50.
Foster put Mitchell in front, 63-61 at 6:21 with an offensive rebound and putback, and his steal a fast-break lay-up nine seconds later gave the Pequots a 65-61 lead. However, on the basket, he fell hard to the floor and left the game for three minutes.
The Mitchell lead increased to six, which matched its largest of the game, at 5:59 as Andrade swiped a pass, and fed Smith for a fast-break basket and a 67-61 lead, to cap an 8-0 run.
With Foster on the bench, NJCU rallied with two lay-ups by Morgano and one by Freeney in 50 seconds to even the contest at 67-67 with 4:55 left.
Foster drained another three at 2:57 for a 70-67 lead, before Washington hit two free throws at 1:54 to close the gap to 70-69. Smith increased the home advantage to 72-69 with a jumper off an Andrade pass with 1:28 on the clock. After a turnover on the ensuing possession, NJCU closed the gap to 72-71 with 1:03 left, when Davis picked off a Foster pass at mid-court and drove the lane for a lay-up. Dunleavy again extended Mitchell’s lead to three, 74-71 with a jumper with 50 seconds left off another feed from Andrade.
After Andrade missed a 1-and-1 free throw at 23 seconds, Washington shaved the deficit to one, 74-73 with a lay-up with 5.1 remaining. Dunleavy missed his 1-and-1 with 3.0 seconds left, but Washington’s half-court desperation three was short.
NJCU out-rebounded Mitchell, 50-36, including 26-9 on the offensive glass, which led to a 26-3 edge in second chance points. However, Mitchell shot exceptionally well, converting 30-of-59 overall (.508) and 50 percent from three-point range (7-14). The Pequots made 13-of-25 in the first half (13-25). NJCU shot .382 for the game (29-76), but were just 4-of-26 from three-point range (.154).
NJCU will leave for Standish, ME on Thursday morning where it will face St. Joseph’s College (ME), the host team, on Friday, February 25 at 5pm in the semifinals of the Association of Division III Independents Men’s Basketball Tournament. NJCU is the No. 2 seed in the inaugural event.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
Newspaper Box Score New Jersey City University vs Mitchell College 02/23/05 8:15 pm at New London, CT At New London, CT MITCHELL COLLEGE 74, NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY 73 NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY (16-9) Mark Washington 7-21 5-8 22; Devin Davis 7-12 0-0 14; Antoinne Morgano 5-12 3-5 13; Sanni Ojibara 2-5 3-4 7; Javier Rodriguez 3-6 0-0 6; Rajahn Jones 2-4 0-0 5; Rob Freeney 2-5 0-1 4; Ben Balcom 1-2 0-0 2; Charles Coles 0-3 0-0 0; Will Morris 0-2 0-0 0; James Kaiser 0-1 0-2 0; Christopher Kates 0-1 0-0 0; Luis DaSilva 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 29-76 11-20 73. MITCHELL COLLEGE (5-13) Jamale Foster 12-17 1-3 30; Thaddeus Smith 8-19 0-0 18; James Dunleavy 7-10 3-7 17; Timothy Williamson 2-5 0-0 4; David Andrade 1-2 2-3 4; Christopher Brown 0-6 1-2 1. Totals 30-59 7-15 74. New Jersey City University.... 34 39 - 73 Mitchell College.............. 34 40 - 74 3-point goals-New Jersey City University 4-26 (Mark Washington 3-10; Rajahn Jones 1-3; Sanni Ojibara 0-3; Javier Rodriguez 0-2; Rob Freeney 0-2; Ben Balcom 0-1; Charles Coles 0-3; Luis DaSilva 0-2), Mitchell College 7-14 (Jamale Foster 5-6; Thaddeus Smith 2-7; Timothy Williamson 0-1). Fouled out--New Jersey City University-None, Mitchell College-None. Rebounds-New Jersey City University 50 (Mark Washington 15), Mitchell College 36 (Jamale Foster 13). Assists-New Jersey City University 19 (Rob Freeney 7), Mitchell College 21 (David Andrade 12). Total fouls-New Jersey City University 17, Mitchell College 16. A-163