NEWARK, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Reigning New Jersey Athletic Conference Coach of the Year Marc Brown reached the 150-win milestone in less than 10 years as head coach of the Gothic Knights and No. 22 ranked New Jersey City University built a 33-17 halftime advantage en route to a 67-52 win over Rutgers-Newark in NJAC action at The Golden Dome on January 18.
Brown, who has been the NJAC Coach of the Year twice in the last four seasons, is now 150-109 at the helm of the Gothic Knights as NJCU, ranked No. 22 nationally in the latest D3hoops.com NCAA Division III Top 25 Poll, improved to 14-3 overall and 8-2 in the NJAC.
NJCU shot 56.3 percent from three-point range, connecting on 9-of-16 tries. NJCU picked off 16 steals and forced 23 turnovers. The Knights led for 38:41 of the game and the Scarlet Raiders never led. The Knights scored 24 points off turnovers.
On a balanced scoring day, only one Gothic Knight scored in double figures while four players scored nine. NJCU held an opponent under 60 points for the eighth time this season and had a 14-0 advantage in second chance points. The Scarlet Raiders fell to 4-13 (3-7 NJAC).
Sophomore center Yuri Brutus (Roselle Park, N.J./Roselle Park) scored 10 points, including 6-of-6 foul shooting, to lead the Knights. NJCU shot 20-of-29 from the line in the win.
Senior shooting guard Jalen Harris (Brandywine, Md./Gwynn Park (Md.)) did not reach double figures for just the sixth time as a Gothic Knight but he tallied nine points (5-6 FT), with five steals and four rebounds. Senior point guard Andrew Tomlin (Newark, N.J./Central) knocked down 3-of-7 three-point tries, finishing with nine points and five rebounds, while senior point guard Ata Robinson (Newark, N.J./East Side) added nine points (3-5 FG) in just 16 minutes before fouling out for the first time this year.
Also contributing for NJCU was sophomore point guard Shaquan Worthy (Trenton, N.J./Trenton) with nine points (2-3 3FG) while freshman power forward Sam Toney (Somerdale, N.J./Williamstown), the five-time NJAC Rookie of the Week, added eight points (3-7 FG, 2-2 3FG).
Chase Barneys had a game-high 15 points for Rutgers-Newark (4-14 FG, 2-8 3FG) but no other player had more than seven for the Scarlet Raiders. RUN shot 3-of-11 from three-point range (.273).
The Knights jumped out to an 8-1 margin in the first three minutes. RUN rallied to tie it at 8-8 with 13:44 to go but it was short lived. A Worthy triple with 12:52 left in the opening half put NJCU back in front for good and after a pair of foul shots by Harris with 7:09 to go in the period, the lead remained in double figures for the rest of the night. NJCU led by as many as 16 points twice in the first half and 19 midway through the second period.
QUOTABLE KNIGHTS:
Head Coach Marc Brown, the reigning NJAC Coach of the Year, on the milestone win in career game No. 259: "I didn't think we played really well again, but we did enough to win. We played a bunch of guys today and just about everyone contributed. So it was a good team win. Now on to Rutgers-Camden."
OF NOTE:
- Series: 81st meeting. NJCU leads all-time series, 64-17, and has won the last four meetings.
- Rankings: NJCU is ranked No. 22 by D3hoops in the January 16/week 7 poll. It's the highest ranking in the poll in program history.
- After missing three games due to injury, junior starting small forward Kevin Brown (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) returned and played 11 minutes. He had five points, three assists, and three steals off the bench.
- Yuri Brutus scored in double figures for the third time this season and 14th time in his career.
WHAT'S NEXT?
NJCU heads to Camden, NJ on Saturday, January 21 at 3 p.m. against Rutgers University-Camden (3-12, 1-9 NJAC, Lost 1). It will be the 66th meeting. NJCU leads the all-time series, 60-5, and has won 22 of the last 23 meetings and 50 of the last 52.