JERSEY CITY, N.J. (January 20, 2016) – New Jersey City University held off Rutgers University-Newark by a score of 63-59 Wednesday night in a matchup of the top-two men's basketball teams in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
 
The Gothic Knights improve to 8-2 in the conference and 10-6 overall and now hold a one-game lead atop the standings over the Scarlet Raiders who fall to 7-3 in the NJAC and 12-5 overall.
 
After a rough first half from the field that saw the Gothic Knights take a 31-23 edge, Rutgers-Newark battled back to take the lead and nearly the game, but the guests were unable to earn the conference victory on the road.
 
After opening a 59-57 advantage following a three-pointer from sophomore guard Tyler Ofray with 2:38 on the clock, NJCU scored the final six points in the game to claim the win. Senior guard Khalid Muhammad and junior guard Ata Robinson scored the key points down the stretch for the Gothic Knights who improve to 2-0 against R-N this season.
 
Senior forward Jordan McDaniel hit three free throws after getting fouled behind the three-point-line to pull R-N within five points early in the second, and after a Gothic Knight triple, back-to-back buckets from McDaniel and senior forward David Azoroh trimmed the deficit to four with a shade under 18 minutes to go. McDaniel and Snow followed with baskets to make it eight-straight Scarlet Raider points and a tie ball game with 16:30 on the clock.
 
Two Snow foul shots pushed R-N on top for the first time since midway through the opening period, but Gothic Knight junior guard Jalen Harris scored seven-straight points to put the guests back up six and give his team all the momentum in the gym.
 
After a timeout, McDaniel hit back-to-back jumpers to wrestle the momentum back, and the Scarlet Raiders quickly regained a 44-43 lead thanks to a three-point play from sophomore guard Tyler Ofray. R-N would build as much as a four-point margin on several occasions, before a 5-0 NJCU rally turned a 54-50 deficit into a 55-54 lead with 4:07 on the clock, setting the stage for the final minutes of play.
 
Rutgers-Newark struggled mightily from the field in the first half, shooting just 22.2 percent and going 0-for-6 from deep. A total of 43 free throws were attempted in the first 20 minutes of action as the Gothic Knights hit 15-of-23 and the Raiders went 11-for-20.
 
The Scarlet Raider defense held the hosts to 26.9 percent shooting to keep the game close early, but NJCU closed period on a 6-1 rally to turn a 25-22 lead to eight.
 
Snow led the Scarlet Raiders with eight points and three steals and eight players were able to get onto the scoresheet – none of which had more than one field-goal made in the opening 20.
 
Overall, Snow finished with 17 points, six rebounds, three steals, three assists and two blocked shots, and McDaniel had 13 points, eight boards and two steals. Azoroh finished with 10 points, six rebounds and two steals, while Ofray tallied 10 points, four rebounds and three steals as a total of four Scarlet Raiders scored in double figures.
 
The Scarlet Raiders shot 33.3 percent (19-for-57) from the field, 1-for-14 from three and 20-for-33 (60.6 percent) from the line. The Gothic Knights held a 46-41 lead on the glass, and shot 34.6 percent (18-for-52) from the field, 6-for-19 from three (31.6 percent) and 21-for-36 (58.3 percent) from the line.
 
There were 11 lead changes and six ties in the game and neither team led by more than eight points. R-N finished with 13 steals and seven blocked shots, but the hosts held a 31-5 margin in bench points.
 
Harris scored a game-high 19 for NJCU and Robinson had 14 points and six rebounds.
 
Rutgers-Newark will look to get back in the win column Saturday night at 8 p.m. when it hosts Stockton University in another key conference showdown. Live stats and live video will be available at www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com.