New Jersey City University took a four-point lead into the half and never trailed in the second period, en route to a 68-61 non-conference victory over Rutgers University-Newark, at The Golden Dome. NJCU leads the all-time series 52-4, and owns a 40-3 margin in the 23-year career of head coach CHARLES BROWN.
NJCU (11-6) has won three consecutive games, and seven of nine since the entire roster became available on December 28. Newark (10-6) has dropped its last two, and after a 7-1 start, the Scarlet Raiders have lost five of eight.
Junior swingman MARK WASHINGTON (East Orange, NJ/West Side) led the Knights with his fourth double-double in nine games, finishing with 15 points (6-13), 10 rebounds (five offensive), five assists, and four steals in 34 minutes. He is 80 points shy of 1000 for his career. Freshman point guard CHARLES COLES (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) made his first career start and chalked up a career-high 14 points (5-8), including 2-of-2 from three-point range.
Sophomore forward DEVIN DAVIS (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Regional) had 10 points (4-6) and six rebounds, but only played 18 minutes, while in foul trouble. Sophomore center ABRAHAM WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) chipped in nine points.
Junior guard JUSTIN CARTER (Paterson, NJ/Don Bosco Tech) led all players with 17 points (6-13) and six assists, but committed eight of the Raiders’ 27 turnovers. Sophomore forward JERMONT HORTON (Irvington, NJ/Irvington), who averaged 17.5 points per game and was one of the top scorers in the New Jersey Athletic Conference entering the contest, had 13 points and six rebounds, but only attempted nine shots (4-9). Carter and Horton were each held to four points in the opening stanza.
Junior forward CHINEDU IDEH (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) notched 13 points (5-9) and had five rebounds. Freshman forward AFOLABI AJUMOBI (Roselle, NJ/Roselle Catholic) added nine points and eight rebounds in 16 minutes. All of his points came in the opening period.
In a first half that featured 10 lead changes and 10 ties, NJCU closed the period on a 9-0 run, canning three three-pointers in the final 2:35, including one by Washington with 50 seconds left to give the Gothic Knights a 32-28 lead at the break.
The run extended to 18-2 overall between periods, before NJCU grabbed a 41-30 advantage after a dunk by Davis at 14:27.
An 8-0 spurt by Newark, highlighted by two lay-ups from Ibeh, closed the deficit to 47-44. Carter then hit a jumper from the left baseline that would have made it a one-point game. However, an offensive goaltending call against the Raiders waived off the basket. From that point, NJCU went on a 17-5 run, and pulled in front by 15, 64-49 with 53 seconds left, before prevailing by seven.
NJCU shot .446 overall (25-56), capped by .500 in the second half (12-24). Newark was 21-of-52 from the field (.404).
NJCU returns to action on Saturday, January 29 at 8pm when it hosts Lincoln University (PA) at the John J. Moore Athletic and Fitness Center.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
Newspaper Box Score New Jersey City University vs Rutgers-Newark 01/26/05 7:30 pm at Newark, NJ (The Golden Dome) At Newark, NJ (The Golden Dome) NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY 68, RUTGERS-NEWARK 61 NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY (11-6) Mark Washington 6-13 2-4 15; Charles Coles 5-8 2-2 14; Devin Davis 4-6 2-5 10; Abraham Williams 2-7 5-6 9; Sanni Ojibara 2-4 1-3 6; James Kaiser 2-2 1-2 5; Antoinne Morgano 2-6 0-0 4; Javier Rodriguez 1-5 0-0 3; Ben Balcom 1-2 0-0 2; Christopher Kates 0-3 0-1 0; Luis DaSilva 0-0 0-0 0; Rajahn Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-56 13-23 68. RUTGERS-NEWARK (10-6) Justin Carter 6-13 4-4 17; Jermont Horton 4-9 4-6 13; Chinedu Ibeh 5-9 3-4 13; Afolabi Ajumobi 3-5 3-5 9; Manny Rios 1-7 3-4 5; Phil Slater 1-3 0-0 2; Miguel Alves 1-3 0-0 2; Angel Collado 0-1 0-0 0; Rasheen Blackwell 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-52 17-23 61. New Jersey City University.... 32 36 - 68 Rutgers-Newark................ 28 33 - 61 3-point goals-New Jersey City University 5-15 (Charles Coles 2-2; Sanni Ojibara 1-2; Mark Washington 1-4; Javier Rodriguez 1-5; Ben Balcom 0-1; Christopher Kates 0-1), Rutgers-Newark 2-10 (Justin Carter 1-1; Jermont Horton 1-4; Manny Rios 0-1; Miguel Alves 0-2; Rasheen Blackwell 0-2). Fouled out--New Jersey City University-None, Rutgers-Newark-None. Rebounds-New Jersey City University 35 (Mark Washington 10), Rutgers-Newark 38 (Afolabi Ajumobi 8). Assists-New Jersey City University 18 (Mark Washington 5), Rutgers-Newark 11 (Justin Carter 6). Total fouls-New Jersey City University 20, Rutgers-Newark 20. A-335 NJCU leads all-time series, 52-4.