Jersey City, N.J. (12/4/10) – Forward Jonathan Jones recorded his sixth straight double-double to start off his senior season as the Kean University men's basketball team picked up their second NJAC win by defeating host New Jersey City University, 70-67, Saturday evening.

With the win the Cougars improve to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play the loss drops NJCU to 1-4 and 0-2 in the NJAC.

After trading baskets in the early goings, Kean took the lead as junior Ali Mix scored a trey with 14:24 to go in the first half to give KU a 9-7 lead.  NJCU kept it close, with the Cougars only able to push their lead to as many as five in the first 20 minutes of action.  The Gothic Knights were able to tie things up on two occasions in the final three minutes, but Kean was able to gain the lead for good as Jones scored a jumper with 1:43 to go, giving Kean a 29-27 lead and ultimately a 31-29 lead at the break.  Mix registered 16 points off the bench while Jones added 11.

The Cougars were able to widen their lead to double-digits with a 7-0 run in the second half as freshman Andrew Kirey initiated the run with a three-pointer followed by four points from rookie J.J. Hladik.  NJCU made things interesting in the final minute of play as they chipped away both the score and the clock, and closed to within one with under 10 seconds to go as Walik Albright hit both of his free throws to put the score at 68-67.  With time not on their side, the Gothic Knights were forced to foul and Kirey gave the Cougars a 70-67 lead with six seconds on the clock.   A Keith Williams desperation shot was not enough to tie things up at the buzzer.

Jones finished with 25 points and 17 rebounds while Mix had 20 points.  Freshman Michael Burton recorded 12 points and sophomore Mike Shaughnessy added five assists and seven rebounds.

Kean returns to NJAC action on Wednesday when they travel to face Rowan University.