New Jersey City University received 12 points and eight rebounds from senior center JAMES KAISER (Stewartsville, NJ/Columbia) and 12 points from senior point guard RON FREENEY (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway), and won its eighth consecutive game by easily defeating Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham, 76-62, in the opening round of the 28th Annual Greyhound Starters Classic, hosted by Moravian College. NJCU out-rebounded FDU by 26, 59-33, including a dominant 27-6 margin on the offensive glass.
NJCU improves to 9-2 overall, and will face Hood College (5-7), winners over host Moravian, in Sunday’s 3 p.m. championship game. FDU falls to 4-7. NJCU leads the all-time series, which began in 1961-62, 9-0.
Kaiser hit 4-of-6 shots, scoring seven of his 12 in the first half. He had six defensive rebounds. Freeney hit 5-of-13, and added five rebounds.
Junior point guard ALEX MIRABEL (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) tallied nine points, five rebounds, and five assists, while freshman forward DANA JOHN (Hillside, NJ/Pocono Mountain, PA) chipped in nine points (4-9 FG) and five rebounds.
Junior center ABRAHAM WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) did not play in the first half, but provided a huge second half spark, with seven points, six rebounds, and three blocks, in only his second game of the season. Senior swingman MARK WASHINGTON (East Orange, NJ/West Side) had six points and five assists while only playing the second half.
For FDU, junior forward Pierre Schmitt (Park Ridge, NJ/Park Ridge) led all scorers with 15 points (5-9 FG), adding four assists. Junior guard Cody Chalmers (Middletown, NJ/Middletown North) tallied 12 points (4-9 FG) and six rebounds, while junior guard Franke Emslie (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan) finished with 11 points, five assists, and four steals.
NJCU trailed for only 27 seconds of the opening period. Trailing 4-3, NJCU uncorked an 11-0 run to move in front 14-4, behind Kaiser, who scored six points during the tear. The Gothic Knights continued to control the period, leading 31-26 at the break, despite shooting only 30.2 percent in the stanza (13-43) and 4-of-20 from three-point range (20.0 percent).
FDU hung tough early in the second half, and twice shaved the lead to one, including 40-39 at 12:46 on a layup from freshman center James McClendon (Poughkeepsie, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes).
However NJCU quickly answered, unleashing a well-rounded 9-0 scoring run to pull in front by nine, 49-39, and extended the streak to 13-2, for a 53-41 advantage. NJCU never led by less than eight the remainder of the contest, and its largest edge was 15, 71-56, at 1:27.
The Knights finished shooting 35.9 percent (27-78), despite struggling from long range (5-28, 17.9%). NJCU made 15-of-24 at the charity stripe (62.5%). FDU made 22-of-53 (41.5%) and 9-of-27 from deep (33.3%), but converted 45.0 percent of its free throws (9-20).
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
Newspaper Box Score FDU-Florham vs New Jersey City Univ. 01/07/06 6:00 PM at Bethlehem, PA (Johnston Hall) At Bethlehem, PA (Johnston Hall) NEW JERSEY CITY UNIV. 76, FDU-FLORHAM 62 FDU-FLORHAM (4-7) Pierre Schmitt 5-9 4-7 15; Cody Chalmers 4-9 2-5 12; Frank Emslie 4-8 1-2 11; Nick Shaw 3-7 0-0 8; Matt Cushing 2-6 0-0 6; James McClendon 2-3 0-0 4; Sean Lynch 1-1 0-0 2; Andrew Biancosino 1-4 0-0 2; Milton LaCroix 0-1 1-2 1; Brian Rimol 0-4 1-4 1; Nate Lawrence 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-53 9-20 62. NEW JERSEY CITY UNIV. (9-2) James Kaiser 4-6 4-6 12; Rob Freeney 5-13 0-0 12; Alex Mirabel 3-10 2-3 9; Dana John 4-9 0-0 9; Abraham Williams 3-5 1-4 7; Devin Davis 3-8 1-1 7; Mark Washington 2-5 2-2 6; Ben Balcom 2-8 1-2 5; Charles Coles 1-5 0-0 3; Aaron Desir 0-5 2-2 2; Arshen Hunter 0-0 2-4 2; Jamal Slappy 1-3 0-0 2; Dashan Martin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-78 15-24 76. FDU-Florham................... 26 36 - 62 New Jersey City Univ.......... 31 45 - 76 3-point goals-FDU-Florham 9-27 (Frank Emslie 2-6; Cody Chalmers 2-5; Matt Cushing 2-6; Nick Shaw 2-6; Pierre Schmitt 1-2; Andrew Biancosino 0-1; Nate Lawrence 0-1), New Jersey City Univ. 5-28 (Rob Freeney 2-8; Charles Coles 1-4; Dana John 1-4; Alex Mirabel 1-3; Ben Balcom 0-2; Aaron Desir 0-5; Mark Washington 0-1; Devin Davis 0-1). Fouled out--FDU-Florham-None, New Jersey City Univ.-None. Rebounds-FDU-Florham 33 (Cody Chalmers 6; Andrew Biancosino 6; Brian Rimol 6), New Jersey City Univ. 59 (James Kaiser 8). Assists-FDU-Florham 14 (Frank Emslie 5), New Jersey City Univ. 20 (Alex Mirabel 5; Mark Washington 5). Total fouls-FDU-Florham 19, New Jersey City Univ. 17. A-63 28th Annual Greyhound Starters Classic First Round game New Jersey City advances to the championship game on Sunday at 3 p.m. FDU-Florham will play in the consolation game at 1 p.m. NJCU wins eighth consecutive game.