JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University trailed by 10 with 5:27 to play before overwhelming rival Montclair State University with a 19-2 run over the next four and a half minutes to ignite NJCU to a 76-70 New Jersey Athletic Conference victory over MSU on January 8 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court).
The win was critical for NJCU (7-5), as the Gothic Knights evened their conference mark at 3-3, snapping a three-game league skid. The Knights had lost five of six after a 5-0 start to the season. Montclair (5-7, 2-4 NJAC) had its three-game winning streak end.
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Team Stat Comparison |
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NJCU |
MONTCLAIR |
|
Score |
76 |
70 |
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Half-Time Score |
30 |
41 |
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Field Goal Percentage |
.446 (29-65) |
.490 (25-51) |
|
Three-Point Percentage |
.333 (6-18) |
.357 (5-14) |
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Free Throw Percentage |
.545 (12-22) |
.714 (15-21) |
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Rebounds (O-D-T) |
16-21-37 |
7-24-31 |
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Assists |
1 |
8 |
|
Turnovers |
410 |
15 |
|
Blocks |
6 |
5 |
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Steals |
4 |
5 |
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Fouls |
19 |
21 |
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Largest Lead |
7 |
16 |
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Points in the Paint |
38 |
32 |
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Points off Turnovers |
17 |
17 |
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Second Change Points |
10 |
9 |
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Fast Break Points |
10 |
4 |
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Bench Points |
39 |
7 |
NJCU's top two scorers—senior small forward WALIK ALBRIGHT (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) and sophomore shooting guard KHALID MUHAMMAD(Orange, NJ/Orange) did little in the first half, scoring two and four points, respectively, in the opening 20 minutes when the Knights trailed by as many as 16 points and fell behind by 11 at halftime (41-30).
But the two Gothic Knight leaders were critical to the second half comeback.Albright scored 16 in the second stanza, finishing with 18 points (7-13 FG), eight rebounds and two blocks, and Muhammadreached double figures for the 31st time in 40 career games, netting 17 points (7-17 FG), six rebounds and two assists.
Junior JUSTIN HARTE (Irvington, NJ/Irvington) was two points shy of his career high, scoring in double figures for just the second time as he came off the bench to notch 13 points, five assists and two steals in 27 minutes of action. He shot 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point distance and scored 11 in the first half on 4-of-5 shooting (3-4 3FG).
Junior point guard JOURDAN ROBERSON (Brooklyn, NY/University (Newark)), the NJAC's top free throw shooter, made 5-of-6 from the line to help bolster an NJCU squad that converted just one of its first 10 foul shots on the night and shot 12-of-22 overall (rest of team shot 7-16 from the line). He finished with 13 points (2-5 3FG) and added five assists.
"It was just guts," said reigning NJAC Coach of the Year Marc Brown. "We didn't quit today. There were some other games where we were struggling and down and we kind of gave up but today we didn't and that was the key."
READ MORE: http://www.njcugothicknights.com/news/2014/1/8/01-08-14_MBASKETBALL_vs_Montclair.aspx