JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | In a one-possession game, New Jersey City University missed its first 14 shots of the fourth quarter and despite forcing 24 Montclair State University turnovers dropped a 57-49 New Jersey Athletic Conference contest on December 11 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.
NJCU (2-6, 0-4 NJAC) led 28-24 at halftime and trailed by two after three quarters (42-40) before Montclair (5-3, 3-1 NJAC) outscored the Gothic Knights in the final 10 minutes, 15-9. It was NJCU's third straight narrow home-court loss to a traditional conference powerhouse.
The Knights took a notable 37 more shots than Montclair (78-41), despite only outrebounding the Red Hawks by one (46-45) as NJCU owned the offensive glass, 23-5, and committed just eight turnovers in the entire game.
NJCU shot 23.1 percent for the game (18-78) , 25 percent (5-of-20) from three-point distance and 47.1 percent from the line (8-17) to derail its chance to win.
Junior point guard Alexandria Sams scored a game-high 16 points (4-11 3FG) but was NJCU's only double-figure producer. Redshirt freshman center Jasmine Reese was having her best effort of the season with eight points, seven rebounds and two steals in 14 minutes before she was forced out of the game with an injury and the Knights could never recover from her absence.
Junior power forward Ayanna Lewis led NJCU with 10 rebounds and four steals. Freshman small forward Sarah Edmond added nine rebounds, seven points and three steals.
Junior guard Taylor Brown (Trumbull, Conn.) led the Red Hawks with a double-double of 15 points (3-6 FG, 2-4 3FG), including 7-of-7 foul shooting, and 12 rebounds while freshman guard Nickie Carter (Flemington, N.J.) added 15 points (5-11 FG). Senior forward Alex McKinnon (Fairfield, Conn.) finished with 10 points and eight rebounds while senior guard Cerys MacLelland (Cranford, N.J.) contributed 10 defensive rebounds and six assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Montclair jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first 5:25 until Reese grabbed an offensive rebound and put back the second chance after NJCU shot just 1-of-11 to open the game. Back-to-back backcourt turnovers forced by NJCU resulted in a baseline jumper by Edmond (9-6) until Brown answered with a three for MSU. A right-corner three by freshman shooting guard Joscelyn Williams cut the deficit to 12-9. Reese's layup with 41 seconds left in the quarter trimmed the deficit to 12-11—the score at the end of 10 minutes of play.
- NJCU tied it 30 seconds into the second quarter on a pair of Reese foul shots. The Knights took the lead for the first time when Sams drilled a three (16-15) with 6:36 to play and Sams hit another with 5:47 to go for a 19-15 edge. A layup by Edmond (4:40) made it 21-17.
- Sams third three of the quarter with 3:08 left extended the lead to seven—26-19—and after a three for MSU by McKinnon, Lewis scored underneath with 2:34 left in the period (28-22). NJCU led 28-24 at the half, forcing 16 Red Hawk turnovers while giving away just five itself. NJCU outrebounded MSU 9-2 on the offensive glass in the first 20 minutes.
- Montclair scored the first five of the third quarter. A jumper 2:30 into the quarter by McKinnon gave the Red Hawks back a one-point lead (29-28). A turnover by MSU allowed Reese to score in traffic to put NJCU back on top, 30-29.
- An aggressive offensive rebound by Reese under the basket led to a Johnson layup for a 32-31 lead but Reese was injured on the next play and never returned. NJCU could not recover without her impact inside.
- Lewis followed her own missed shot with a layup before a three by sophomore guard Trisha Peterson (Lafayette, N.J.) tied it at 34-34. Sams hit a long jumper to put NJCU ahead again, 36-34. A three by Carter was answered seconds later on a short jumper by sophomore guard Aaliyah McCrae (38-37) and senior guard Hannah Johnson sank one foul shot (39-37, 2:37). McKinnon tied it with a long straightaway jumper in the final minute. McCrae made one foul shot with 28 seconds left before Carter scored on an inbounds pass with 1.5 left in the quarter. She was injured, couldn't take the free throw and Montclair could pick whoever it wanted to shoot. It chose Brown, who converted, and MSU led 42-40 after three quarters. NJCU forced 20 turnovers through three quarters and only coughed it up six times.
- In the fourth quarter, MSU struck first, with MacLelland hitting a tough running jumper in the lane and freshman forward Saniya Myers (Piscataway, N.J.) hit a layup with 8:03 to go to make it 46-41. A Brown layup extended the Red Hawks lead to 48-41 three minutes into the period. A McKinnon basket made it 50-41. NJCU missed its first 14 shots to open the fourth and couldn't recover.
- However NJCU did make a game of it in the final two minutes. With 1:45 left, junior guard Mya Neal hit two from the line to make it a six-point deficit and Sams pulled up from the right wing to calmly drill a three and draw within 52-49 with 1:02 to go before MSU sealed the win with four free throws in the final minute.
OF NOTE:
- 66th meeting: Montclair State leads 63-3 and has won the last 32 meetings since February 13, 2002, a 71-54 win in Jersey City.
- Game marked the first time NJCU led Montclair State at the half since January 13, 2007 when the Knights led 27-23 at halftime at Panzer Gymnasium.
- NJCU's eight turnovers were by far a season low; the previous low was 13 at Wesleyan on November 19. NJCU's eight turnovers were its fewest since committing seven at Ramapo on February 13, 2019.
UP NEXT:
- The Knights will play their final NJAC game of the 2019 portion of the schedule on Saturday, December 14 with a road contest at Rutgers-Newark on Saturday, December 14 (6 p.m.) at the Golden Dome in Newark.
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