MONTCLAIR, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Of all the life lessons that come from sports probably none resonates as much as not quitting. For the second time in three years, the New Jersey City University men's basketball has embodied that mantra. On February 14, NJCU led from start to finish and put an exclamation mark on another incredible late-season comeback, qualifying for the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament with an 83-58 road rout of Montclair State University at the Panzer Athletic Center.
 
It was the eighth win in 10 games for the resurgent Gothic Knights who after opening the season just 3-10 overall and 1-6 in the NJAC, improved to 11-12 overall and 9-8 in the NJAC. NJCU also swept the season series from Montclair (8-16, 3-14 NJAC).
 
Coupled with Rutgers-Camden's 80-72 win over Ramapo, the field of six for the NJAC Tournament has been locked in with only seedings to determine on February 18 when the regular season comes to a close.
 
At the top of the standings, No. 19 ranked Richard Stockton and No. 22 William Paterson have locked up the top two seeds and at 13-4 are fighting for the NJAC regular season title. Rutgers-Newark and The College of New Jersey are tied for third at 10-7 while NJCU and Rowan University are fifth at 9-8. If NJCU beats Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday, it will clinch the fifth seed in the tournament and travel to either TCNJ or Rutgers-Newark for a quarterfinal game on February 21. Meanwhile, If TCNJ defeats Kean on February 18, the Lions will be the No. 3 seed.

In the decisive win over Montclair, senior small forward Neville Joseph(Newark, NJ/West Side), this week's NJAC Player of the Week, again was dominant for the Knights, posting his fifth double-double of the season. He netted 18 points and 11 rebounds with two steals while shooting 6-of-13 from the field with a pair of threes in 25 minutes.
 
Junior shooting guard Khalid Muhammad (Orange, NJ/Orange)came oh so close to becoming the 28th member of NJCU's 1000-point club. He entered the game needing 13 to hit the milestone, finishing with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting with seven rebounds in 15 minutes while playing with four fouls. Senior power forwardDrew Marley (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) totaled 10 points (5-8 FG) in 20 minutes.

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