New Jersey City University placed five players in double figures and exacted a measure of revenge against Ramapo College in the fourth meeting of the year between the schools, as the Gothic Knights led from start to finish and routed Ramapo College, 84-62, in the quarterfinal round of the 2006 Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Metro Tournament at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center. NJCU held Ramapo under 65 points for only the sixth time in 29 games this year.
With the win, NJCU improves to 18-9 overall, with its seventh win in eight games. The Gothic Knights will face No. 2 seeded Richard Stockton College in the ECAC Semifinals on Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m. in Pomona, NJ. RSC defeated Lehman College, 80-66, in another quarterfinal on Wednesday. For Ramapo, their season ends at 18-11 overall with two consecutive losses.
NJCU leads the all-time series 54-14, including 28-7 at home. For NJCU, the dominant win was a measure of revenge after RCNJ defeated the Knights in Jersey City eight days ago, 89-78, in the New Jersey Athletic Conference quarterfinals. NJCU led that game by 19 at the half and by as much as 21 in the second period before the Roadrunners rallied. NJCU and Ramapo split the four games played this season.
Meanwhile, NJCU, making its 24th consecutive appearance in the post-season continues its dominance in the ECAC Tournament, improving to 20-6 (.769) all-time.
Senior swingman MARK WASHINGTON (East Orange, NJ/West Side) led all scorers with a game-high 16 points (6-of-13) to bring his career total to 1,565. He needs 23 more points to move into fifth place in school history. He added four assists and did not have a foul in 31 minutes.
Junior point guard ALEX MIRABEL (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) had 12 points (6-9 FG) and five rebounds, and freshman forward DANA JOHN (Hillside, NJ/Pocono Mountain (PA)), this week’s NJAC Rookie of the Week, contributed 12 points (5-10 FG), a game-high seven rebounds, and three steals.
Junior center ABRAHAM WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) scored all 10 of his points in the first half, and swatted four blocks, to go along with four rebounds. Senior swingman SANNI OJIBARA (Irvington, NJ/Irvington) had 10 points (4-8 FG) in only nine minutes off the bench.
Freshman guard Timothy Wesley (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) was Ramapo’s lone player in double figures, finishing with 13 points (6-12 FG) and four steals. Junior forward Jamall Jenkins (New Brunswick, NJ/New Brunswick) finished with nine points, while junior guard Antoine Pryor (Elizabeth, NJ/St. Patrick’s) had eight (3-7 FG). Senior forward Noel Colon (Jersey City, NJ/North Bergen) had seven points and five rebounds in his final game, and sophomore guard Ahmad Mosby (Jersey City, NJ/St. Anthony) delivered a game-high five assists.
Williams had 10 points in the first half on 5-of-6 shooting as the Knights jumped ahead 15-3 and never looked back. He had eight of NJCU’s first 15 points. After RCNJ cut the score to 22-12, an 11-2 run by the Knights extended their lead to 33-14 after an offensive rebound and tip-in by John. NJCU’s largest lead of the period was 23, 44-21, before taking a 21-point margin into the locker room, 44-23. RCNJ was limited to just 26.5 percent shooting in the half (9-34).
Unlike in the last meeting between the teams on February 21, when Ramapo was able to chip away at an insurmountable deficit, the Gothic Knights continued to exhibit strong play in the second period. The Roadrunners never drew closer than 18 points in the second half. The Knights lead never fell under 20 points after the 10:12 mark of the period. NJCU’s largest lead of the game was 28, 84-56, when Ojibara hit a free throw with 46 seconds remaining.
NJCU shot 47.9 percent overall (35-73), with similar success from the field in each period. Ironically, NJCU, which ranks 45th in Division III in three-pointers made per game (8.2), shot 4-of-19 from three-point range (.211) and made less than five treys in a contest for only the fourth time this season, in the victory. NJCU shot 10-of-18 from the line (10-18) and had a 47-36 edge in rebounding.
RCNJ finished shooting 37.7 percent overall (26-69), 23.5 percent from deep (4-17) and 6-of-12 at the line (50.0%). NJCU owned a 23-11 margin in points off turnovers, and 22-9 in second chance points.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
Newspaper Box Score Ramapo College vs New Jersey City University 03/01/06 7 pm at Jersey City, NJ (John J. Moore AFC) At Jersey City, NJ (John J. Moore AFC) NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY 84, RAMAPO COLLEGE 62 RAMAPO COLLEGE (18-11) Timothy Wesley 6-12 0-0 13; Jamall Jenkins 4-7 1-2 9; Antoine Pryor 3-7 0-0 8; Noel Colon 3-6 1-3 7; Shawn Frost 3-7 0-0 6; Ahmad Mosby 1-5 2-2 4; Ryan Kearney 2-5 0-0 4; David Murillo 1-2 1-2 3; John Wojcik 1-5 0-1 3; Mike Malko 1-6 1-2 3; Quameir Harding 1-5 0-0 2; Jason Marshall 0-1 0-0 0; Kevin Findlay 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-69 6-12 62. NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY (18-9) Mark Washington 6-13 3-4 16; Alex Mirabel 6-9 0-0 12; Dana John 5-10 1-3 12; Abraham Williams 5-8 0-0 10; Sanni Ojibara 4-8 1-2 10; Dashan Martin 3-3 0-0 6; James Kaiser 2-4 2-5 6; Devin Davis 2-5 1-2 6; Aaron Desir 2-7 0-0 4; Jamal Slappy 0-1 2-2 2; Ben Balcom 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 35-73 10-18 84. Ramapo College................ 23 39 - 62 New Jersey City University.... 44 40 - 84 3-point goals-Ramapo College 4-17 (Antoine Pryor 2-5; John Wojcik 1-3; Timothy Wesley 1-3; Ahmad Mosby 0-1; Ryan Kearney 0-2; Quameir Harding 0-1; Noel Colon 0-2), New Jersey City University 4-19 (Devin Davis 1-1; Sanni Ojibara 1-4; Mark Washington 1-3; Dana John 1-2; Aaron Desir 0-5; Ben Balcom 0-3; Alex Mirabel 0-1). Fouled out--Ramapo College-None, New Jersey City University-None. Rebounds-Ramapo College 36 (Ryan Kearney 5; Noel Colon 5), New Jersey City University 47 (Dana John 7). Assists-Ramapo College 17 (Ahmad Mosby 5), New Jersey City University 19 (Mark Washington 4). Total fouls-Ramapo College 16, New Jersey City University 15. A-168 2006 ECAC Division III Metro Quarterfinals between #3 NJCU and #6 Ramapo. NJCU will face #2 Richard Stockton in Pomona, NJ in Friday's ECAC Semifinals. NJCU leads the all-time series, 54-13, including 28-7 at home. Mark Washington increases career scoring total to 1,565.