Saturday, January 15, 2011 (Men's Basketball)

WALIK ALBRIGHT LEADS STRONG EFFORT AS NJCU WINS THIRD STRAIGHT, TOPPLING RICHARD STOCKTON, 78-74

JERSEY CITY, NJ (www.NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Sophomore forward WALIK ALBRIGHT (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) scored 11 of his career-high 19 points in the second half and was a perfect 9-of-9 from the foul line and New Jersey City University shot 88 percent from the stripe in the second half as the Gothic Knights reached the .500 mark with a 78-74 victory over Richard Stockton College in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game on Saturday at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on "Coach Charlie Brown Court." NJCU led for the final 24:17 of the game and successfully defended a home lead .

The Knights improve to 6-6 overall and 2-2 in the NJAC by winning its third consecutive game; Stockton (8-5, 2-2 NJAC) had its three-game winning streak snapped. The Knights lead the all-time series, 41-28, having won the last two meetings.

NJCU converted 27-of-33 from the line—an 81.8 percent success rate, including a staggering 22-of-25 in the second half. NJCU shot 80 percent or better from the line for the third time this season. The Knights finished shooting 49.0 percent from the field against an Osprey team that entered the game with the league's second best field goal percentage defense (.380).

Stockton shot 58.3 percent in the second half (14-24) and hit 6-of-10 from three-point range in the period, but NJCU countered with its strong free throw presence and a 54.5 percent field goal percentage (12-22) during the final 20 minutes.

Overall, Albright scored 19 in 27 minutes, making 5-of-8 from the field and 9-of-9 from the line, with three assists. Sophomore guard ASHMERE WILSON (Newark, NJ/Weequahic) provided 13 points (4-6 FG; 4-5 FT) in 13 minutes off the bench while junior forward TAQUAN ABDULLAH (Kenilworth, NJ/David Brearley) collected 12 points (4-5 FG; 3-4 FT) in 16 reserve minutes.

"I'm pleased with the win," noted fourth-year head coach MARC BROWN. "The guys stepped up and I'm hoping the team is coming together. We had guys who played well today who have to play well in the future, especially Taquan [Abdullah] and Ashmere [Wilson]. We've never been a really good free throw shooting team but it's something we have worked on in practice and I'm glad we made some today."

Junior point guard KEITH WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) chalked up nine points and delivered five assists and four steals. Senior point guard DA'SHON BARRINO (Newark, NJ/Malcolm X. Shabazz) finished with eight points, including 4-of-4 from the line, and senior forward TOM McDERMOTT (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) tallied seven points (3-3 FG) and five rebounds.

Brown was particularly pleased with the effort of Albright. "We talked with Walik about him needing to be more aggressive—he's too good of a scorer. He needs to look to score more. He's going to play more inside for us and he has to be ready to give us more offensively."

Stockton junior guard Pat Kelly (Cape May Courthouse, NJ/Wildwood Catholic) matched Albright with a game-high 19 points (6-13 FG) and made 5-of-11 from three-point distance. Freshman guard Kevin Johnson (Paulsboro, NJ/Paulsboro) collected 15 points (5-6 FG; 5-7 FT) and sophomore forward Nnamdi Usuwa (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) chipped in 14 points (3-3 FG; 8-13 FT), six rebounds and three steals.

Also for the visitors, junior forward DiAndre Brown (Sicklerville, NJ/Camden County Tech) registered 10 points, including 3-of-3 from three-point range. Senior guard Kai Massaquoi (Lawnside, NJ/Haddon Heights), Stockton's leading scorer at 16.9 per game, was limited to 2-of-12 shooting and nine points, but he did collect six assists and four steals before fouling out.

NJCU led 30-23 at the half, finishing the final 9:26 of the period on a 19-5 run. Stockton led 18-11 before Keith Williams—the NJAC leader in steals—who had six points, four steals and two assists in the opening period, fueled a fierce 15-1 run that put the Knights in front 27-20.

With 5:20 remaining in the period, Williams had a steal and converted it into a fast break basket to cut the deficit to 20-17 before making a tough jumper in the lane at 4:39. McDermott converted a fast break layup at 4:17 off a steal and assist by Williams as NJCU gained a 21-20 lead.  Williams swiped a pass, sprinted down the floor and converted a layup for a 23-20 lead at 3:48. At 3:01, sophomore forward ISAIAH JOHNSON (East Orange, NJ/East Orange Campus) muscled his way to the rim for two points and with 2:06 left in the period Barrino slashed to the hoop for a layup and a 27-20 margin. NJCU hit three foul shots in the final 78 seconds to keep a seven-point lead at the break.

NJCU held a two-possession lead for much of the second half. At 16:57 Williams lofted a pass over the Stockton defense to the post where McDermott scored and converted a three point play for a 37-30 lead. Kelly made a three before Massaquoi cut it to a two-point, 37-35 lead with two of four foul shooting, but the Knights received a pair of baskets by Abdullah, including a fast-break dunk off a steal for a 43-37 edge.

The Ospreys managed to tie it at 44-44 with 9:54 left as sophomore guard Dave Williams (Pennsauken, NJ/Pennsauken) hit a three-pointer and two foul shots. The clubs remained knotted at 46-46.

But NJCU reeled off 13 of the next 14 points to take control of the game for good. Abdullah drilled a three at 9:04 and Wilson increased the lead to 51-47 with a bucket. At 7:24, Williams penetrated the lane, kicked out a pass to Abdullah, and the 6-foot-8 small forward swished an 18-foot shot for a 53-47 cushion. At the 6:29 mark, Albright sank a spinning jumper in the lane for a 55-47 advantage and the lead stood at 10, 57-47 as Wilson converted two from the line at 6:11.

Kevin Johnson scored four and Kelly had a field goal at 4:46 to shave the lead to four. At 4:32, Albright increased the lead to 59-53 when Williams threaded a pass over the Stockton defense on the left post for an easy layup. With 3:21 remaining, Albright was fouled shooting a triple in the left corner, calmly walked to the line, and sank all three foul shots for a nine-point, 62-53 lead. Albright entered the game having made just 15-of-23 (.652) on the season.

With 2:58 remaining, Kelly buried a 30-foot three-pointer from the right wing. But with 2:21 to go and the shot clock winding down, Albright fed a pass from underneath the basket to the right arc. There, Wilson drilled a three-pointer, drew a foul, and completed a rare four-point play for a 66-56 lead.

The Knights iced the game by making 12 of 14 from the line, including 10 straight; Albright and Barrino each hit two from the line and Abdullah made three of four as the Knights led by 10, 76-66, with 22 seconds left. Brown made a pair of three-pointers and Kelly added another in the final 34 seconds to make the final score more respectable.

NJCU is back in action on Monday, January 17 at 2 p.m. in a non-conference holiday game against New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn, NY. Stockton hosts Eastern University that afternoon at 4 p.m.

—www.njcugothicknights.com—