SOURCE: http://www.njcugothicknights.com/news/2017/11/29/201711-29_MBASKETBALL_vs_William_Paterson.aspx

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University men's basketball team put its home-court winning streak on the line minus four players and two starters and thanks to an all-time great performance from sophomore forward Sam Toney (Plainfield, NJ/Williamstown)and a pair of emerging freshmen, the Gothic Knights remain unbeaten. Toney produced one of the greatest double-double efforts in the 85-year history of NJCU basketball with 36 points and 17 rebounds, and freshmen Kamal Williams (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) and Chika Wosu (Jersey City, NJ/University Academy Charter)) had breakout nights as NJCU survived the 150th known meeting with rival William Paterson University, 87-83, in one overtime, on November 29 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center ('Coach Charlie Brown Court').
 
NJCU improved to 6-0 and 2-0 in the NJAC while notching its 20th consecutive regular season home court victory as Toney had the most points ever by a Gothic Knight player in the 24-year existence of the JMAC and the most in Jersey City in 37 seasons. Toney matched the 10th highest scoring effort in NJCU history and scored the most points at home since February 18, 1981. He shot 11-of-24 overall, including 7-of-13 from two-point range, and was 10-of-13 from the line with 17 points and two blocks in 41 minutes.
 
The only greater combined scoring-rebounding double-double effort in program history came on February 11, 1979 in a 136-108 win against Mercy on a neutral court in Elmira, N.Y. when Hall-of-Famer Brett Wyatt scored a school-record 52 points with 22 rebounds.
 
William Paterson (2-4, 0-2 NJAC) managed to hang with NJCU by committing just six turnovers in the entire game and four in the first 39 minutes before forcing overtime when senior guard George Sapp (Sicklerville, N.J.) grabbed an offensive rebound and fired up a three with less than two seconds remaining.
 
Toney had a double-double by halftime (14 points, 10 rebounds, nine defensive, 19 minutes), and 17 in the second half in 17 minutes when he shot 5-of-6 from the field. Entering overtime with 31 points, he added five of NJCU's eight points in the extra period. Both the scoring and rebounding totals were career highs and 12 more points than he has yielded in the first 34 games of his career.
 
Williams, who got the start in place of injured junior point guard Shaquan Worthy (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Central), had 14 points (4-8 FG, 2-6 3FG, 4-6 FT) with five rebounds and two assists in 44 minutes. Wosu, the younger brother of two-time NJAC Defensive Player of the Year Chinwe Wosuwas a game-changer with offensive putbacks and had a near double-double, scoring 12 points (6-10) with nine rebounds (six offensive) in 22 minutes. Wosu came off the bench in the first half alone to score eight points (4-6 FG) in 10 minutes.
 
Also for NJCU, junior center Yuri Brutus (Roselle, NJ/Roselle Park) had eight points and seven rebounds and junior shooting guard Lavrone Green (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) tallied six points and four assists before fouling out. In addition to Worthy, NJCU played without starting junior small forward James Julius (Linden, NJ/Linden).
 
WP senior forward Richy Espinal (Ridgefield Park, N.J.) scored 14 of his team-high 21 points in the first half. He shot 7-of-18 and 3-of-6 from three-point range in 41 minutes of action, adding six boards and five assists.
 
Senior guard Dapo Badmos (Toronto, Canada) contributed 19 points (7-17 FG), five rebounds and three assists before fouling out after 32 minutes of action. Sapp, who hit the biggest shot for the Pioneers, was the only player to log a full 45 minutes. He scored 16, hitting 3-of-6 three-point shots. Sophomore forward Sean Smith (Moraga, Calif.) was the fourth WP player in double figures, adding 11 points, primarily from the line (6-6). Sophomore forward Henry Voorhees (South Orange, N.J.) finished with 10 rebounds.
 
In a game that saw 12 ties and 10 lead changes, the Pioneers hit 10 threes in the game and shot 82.6 percent from the line (19-23), missing just four tries. However, NJCU dominated the rebounding battle with a +15 advantage (55-40) and that led to the most important statistical mismatch of the evening—a 30-11 differential in second chance points.
 
NJCU led for 36:11 of the contest and by as many as nine points with 3:46 remaining in regulation. The Pioneers never led by more than two points and for only 3:05 of court time. WP did not lead in overtime.

 
KEY MOMENTS:

• NJCU jumped out to a 9-4 lead forcing WP into an early timeout and made it 12-4 on Brutus' second tip-in basket of the first four minutes. Greenpicked up his second foul of the first half less than five minutes into the game.
• WP rallied to within one, 14-13, on a three by Sapp before Wosu had a carom and putback. WP forced the first tie of the game on an Espinalthree, 16-16.
• Another offensive rebound and putback by Wosu and a Toney jumper off an offensive rebounded, followed by a tip-in by senior guard Gene Campbell (Carteret, NJ/East Brunswick Tech) pushed the lead to 22-16, before the visitors rallied, hitting a pair of threes and tying it at 24-24.
• The teams traded further ties at 26-26, 28-28, and 29-29.
• Six straight points by Toney put NJCU back in front, 35-29, including a pull-up three and a turn-around jumper. Espinal hit another three with 1:13 left in the half and two foul shots to tie it at 38-38. Williams banked in a 23-foot three-point shot with less than five seconds on the clock to give NJCU a 41-38 halftime edge.
• A quick NJCU five-point margin early in the second half was negated by a 9-2 run and when junior guard Peter Martinez (Stockton, Calif.) hit the second of back-to-back threes by the Pioneers, WP took its first lead since the opening seconds of the game, 49-47, with 16:39 to go. A triple by junior guard Robert Gordon (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) put NJCU back in front and the Pioneers only led one more time in the game, 51-50, with 14:43 on the board.
• Tied 56-56, Green found Toney for an open three with just four on the shot clock and his 23rd points. Less than 30 seconds later Toney returned the favor, finding Green for a three in front of his own bench and a 62-56 lead. A jumper by Toney extended the lead to eight (66-58) with 7:43 to go.
• With 6:14 left and the shot clock winding down, Toney drilled an off-balance three on a broken play in front of his own bench. He scored his 30th points with two foul shots with 5:52 left and a 71-63 lead. Later, Williams swooped to the rim for a layup and a 73-65 cushion with.4:40 left. His foul shot with 3:46 to go gave NJCU its largest lead of the night (74-65).
• But WP held NJCU without a field goal for a span of 4:31 in the final minutes and gradually clawed back. A three by Smith and two foul shots by Martinez (2:45, 75-70) and Badmos (2:08, 75-72) made it a one-possession game.
• After Campbell pushed the lead to five with a pair from the line (77-72, 1:54 left), Espinal had a driving bucket and NJCU turned it over on its next possession. Smith sank two from the line with 36.1 left to make it a one-point game (77-76).
• When Brutus badly missed a three with 11 seconds left, Wosu was there for the rebound and a key putback to push the lead back to three with nine seconds left.
• Down 79-76, WP had one last opportunity. Badmos missed a three by Sapp grabbed the offensive board, stepped back, and drilled a three as time ran out to force overtime.
• In overtime, Toney hit a pair of foul shots before Badmos counted with a jumper to tie it, 81-81. WP had a chance to regain the lead with 3:08 left by Martinez missed two foul shots.
• The biggest play of OT came with 2:33 left. Toney grabbed an offensive rebound of a teammate's missed jumper, converted the follow and was fouled. His three-point play made it 84-81.
• Sapp scored inside with 2:15 to go but that was the last field goal for either side. Williams hit a foul shot with 2:03 left (85-83) and NJCU's defense got three consecutive defensive stops—just the sixth turnover of the game for the Pioneers with 1:45 to play and two missed shots, including a Brutus block of a Sapp layup with 32 seconds left. NJCU missed two foul shots of its own with 1:19 to play and turned it over with 21 ticks on the clock.
• When Espinal missed a three with three seconds to play, Brutus seized the rebound and Williams was fouled, icing the game with a pair of free throws.

 
QUOTABLES:
#GothicKnightInsights Postgame Interview with Coach Marc Brown, Sam Toney (Plainfield, NJ/Williamstown) and Kamal Williams (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson):
https://www.facebook.com/NJCUGothicKnights/videos/10155459828469915/
 
NOTABLES:

• Series: 150th known meeting. NJCU leads, 81-69, winning the last five meetings.
• Rankings: NJCU received 63 points in the Week 1 D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll—equivalent to a No. 29 national listing. It is the most poll points in an unranked week in school history.
• NJCU dressed 10 healthy players. Ruben Acosta (Waterbury, CT/Bogota), James Julius (Linden, NJ/Linden), Salomon Pierre (East Orange, NJ/Bloomfield Tech) and Shaquan Worthy (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Central) all missed the game due to injuries. Two players fouled out.
• NJCU was last 6-0 to open a season in 2011-12. NJCU also was 11-1 last year (2016-17). .
• Sam Toney (Plainfield, NJ/Williamstown) scored in double figures for the 24th time in 35 career games.
• Sam Toney (Plainfield, NJ/Williamstown) scored at least 20 points in a game for the seventh time in his career and the fourth time in six games this season.
• Toney blew by his previous career high of 24 points in his last game on November 25, 2017 at Farmingdale State and at home vs. Stockton on February 18, 2017, in the NJAC Quarterfinals.
• Toney's 17 rebounds were two more than his previous high of 15 boards in game one this year vs. Stevens (November 15).
• Toney reached double figures in rebounds for the eighth time in his career.
• Toney produced his seventh career double-double.
• Toney's 36 points were the most by an NJCU player in 14 seasons. All-American and NJAC Player of the Year Samar Battle had 37 points at Montclair State on February 21, 2004 (11 rebounds). Josh Lopez also scored 36 in a double-overtime win at Rutgers-Newark on January 28, 2009.
• The previous JMAC scoring record for an NJCU player was 34 points by Hall-of-Famer George Thomas vs. TCNJ, February 8, 2003.
• Kamal Williams (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) and Chika Wosu (Jersey City, NJ/University Academy Charter)) both had career scoring highs after neither player scored in NJCU's last game at Farmingdale State on November 25.

 
UP NEXT:
 

• NJCU heads to Camden, N.J. on Saturday, December 2 when it visits Rutgers University-Camden for a 3 p.m. NJAC contest. It will be the 67th meeting in a series NJCU has dominated. The Knights own a 61-5 cushion in the series and have won 23 of the last 24 meetings and 51 of the last 53.

 
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