Junior forward Jermont Horton (Irvington, NJ/Irvington HS) had game-highs of 22 points and nine rebounds as Rutgers-Newark survived a furious second-half rally by New Jersey City University to post a 71-65 New Jersey Athletic Conference men’s basketball victory in The Golden Dome. The win for Newark is only the fifth in the history of the series, which NJCU leads 53-5, including 41-4 during the tenure of 24th year head coach CHARLES BROWN.
Since starting the season at 9-2, the Gothic Knights (11-6, 7-4 NJAC) have lost four of six and continue to struggle away from home. The Knights are 8-0 in Jersey City, but are just 3-6 in away and neutral site games. The Scarlet Raiders are 14-4 and at 7-4 pull into a three-way second place tie with NJCU and Ramapo College in the conference standings. NJCU and R-N split the season series, after the Knights won 68-59 on November 30.
NJCU lost despite reaching double digits in three-pointers made for the eighth time this season and the fourth time in six games. NJCU is 4-4 this season when hitting at least 10 treys.
Senior swingman MARK WASHINGTON (East Orange, NJ/West Side) had 21 points (7-17, 4-9 3 FG) for NJCU, while junior center ABRAHAM WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) and freshman forward DANA JOHN (Hillside, NJ/Pocono Mountain (PA)) each added 11. Williams had team highs of eight rebounds (seven defensive) and three assists. Junior point guard ALEX MIRABEL (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) contributed five points and seven rebounds.
Freshman guard Chadd Barnes (Newark, NJ/University) added 14 points (6-10 FG) and seven rebounds for R-N, while freshman guard David Cherry (Linden, NJ/Roselle Catholic) and senior guard Justin Carter (Paterson, NJ/Don Bosco Tech) each chalked up nine points. Carter delivered six assists.
NJCU led for much of the first half, and maintained a five-point, 19-14 lead at 10:33, before a 7-0 run put the Raiders ahead, 21-19 at 6:11. R-N would extend the run to 15-3, and pulled in front by seven, 29-22, at 2:46 of the period, before seizing a 29-25 edge at the intermission.
Horton, Barnes, and Cherry had seven points apiece to fuel a 25-13 run early in the second half which staked the Scarlet Raiders to a 56-40 lead with 7:55 remaining. A three by Horton gave Newark a 19-point lead, 65-46, with 4:57 on the board.
But as NJCU did on January 21, when the Knights rallied from a 23-point second-half deficit at Ramapo to take a lead, only to lose by one point, the visitors mounted a furious comeback. Washington ignited a 19-3 run which wilted the Rutgers-Newark lead to 68-65 with 30 seconds left. Nine of his 21 points came during the tear. A three by John capped the rally, and pulled the Knights within a tying trey, but NJCU couldn’t score in the final seconds.
Horton gave the Raiders some breathing room with 27 seconds left with a pair of free throws before Cherry hit the first of two charity tosses with seven seconds left for the final margin.
Newark shot exactly 50 percent in each half, to finish 27-54 for the game, while NJCU bounced back from an 8-for-32, .250 first half to shoot 44.8 percent in the second period (13-29) before ending at 34.4 percent (21-61). NJCU kept itself in the game by knocking down the 10 three pointers (10-28, .357). R-N had a 28-18 margin in points in the paint.
NJCU returns to action on Saturday, January 28 at 7 p.m. when it looks to sweep a series season from Rowan University, as the Knights host the Profs in an NJAC game during Homecoming/Green and Gold Days weekend.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
Newspaper Box Score New Jersey City University vs Rutgers-Newark 01/25/06 7:30 pm at Newark, NJ (The Golden Dome) At Newark, NJ (The Golden Dome) RUTGERS-NEWARK 71, NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY 65 NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY (11-6 (7-4 NJAC)) Mark Washington 7-17 3-3 21; Abraham Williams 3-7 5-7 11; Dana John 3-8 2-2 11; Alex Mirabel 1-6 3-5 5; Devin Davis 2-6 0-0 5; Rob Freeney 2-6 0-0 5; Ben Balcom 2-3 0-2 4; Charles Coles 1-4 0-0 3; James Kaiser 0-3 0-0 0; Dashan Martin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-61 13-19 65. RUTGERS-NEWARK (14-4 (7-4 NJAC)) Jermont Horton 9-20 2-2 22; Chadd Barnes 6-10 2-4 14; Justin Carter 2-6 5-6 9; David Cherry 3-7 2-4 9; Philippe Slater 3-4 0-0 7; Angel Collado 2-3 0-0 6; Derryck Alexander 1-1 0-0 2; Rico Thompson 1-1 0-1 2; Ryan Gillens 0-2 0-0 0; Stephen Taylor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-54 11-17 71. New Jersey City University.... 25 40 - 65 Rutgers-Newark................ 29 42 - 71 3-point goals-New Jersey City University 10-28 (Mark Washington 4-9; Dana John 3-6; Charles Coles 1-4; Rob Freeney 1-2; Devin Davis 1-3; Dashan Martin 0-1; Alex Mirabel 0-3), Rutgers-Newark 6-16 (Angel Collado 2-2; Jermont Horton 2-9; David Cherry 1-2; Philippe Slater 1-1; Ryan Gillens 0-1; Chadd Barnes 0-1). Fouled out--New Jersey City University-None, Rutgers-Newark-None. Rebounds-New Jersey City University 36 (Abraham Williams 8), Rutgers-Newark 40 (Jermont Horton 9). Assists-New Jersey City University 6 (Abraham Williams 3), Rutgers-Newark 13 (Justin Carter 6). Total fouls-New Jersey City University 19, Rutgers-Newark 21. A-428