EWING, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University's men's basketball playoff hopes are in peril after dropping an 86-66 New Jersey Athletic Conference decision to The College of New Jersey on February 12 at Packer Hall. TCNJ, tied for first place in the league with Stockton, led 38-29 at the half and put the game away with a 48-point second period.
While TCNJ stayed even with Stockton in the standings at 15-8 overall and 12-4 in the NJAC, NJCU uncharacteristically fell below .500 with just two games remaining (11-12, 8-8 NJAC).
NJCU, Rowan and Montclair State are all tied for fifth place and only two of the three schools can qualify for the six-team NJAC Tournament. Rowan blew out William Paterson, 101-61, on the road on Wednesday to stay alive while Montclair snapped a three-game losing streak with a 77-73 win over Rutgers-Newark.
NJCU still controls its own destiny, thanks to its sweep of Rowan in two meetings this season, a season split with Montclair, and a win over Stockton, but the Gothic Knights need wins over Rutgers-Camden and Ramapo in its final two games to guarantee a place in the league tournament.
TCNJ senior guard Randall Walko (Somerville, N.J.) led all players with 31 points (7-14 FG), knocking down four three pointers (4-9 3FG) and shooting 13-of-14 from the line. He added six rebounds. Junior forward Travis Jocelyn (Verona, N.J.) contributed 13 points (7-7 FT) and junior guard P.J. Ringel (Marlboro, N.J.) handed out seven assists with seven points and five rebounds.
NJCU had two players score in double figures. Two-time NJAC Player of the Year and two-time All-American senior power forward Sam Toney only attempted eight shots but still scored 12 points (4-8 FG) to move into fourth place in school history with 1,710 points, passing Hall-of-Famer Steve Wilder who scored 1,706 points from 1982-86.
Junior power forward Jahmere Calhoun had 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Junior shooting guard Denzel Banks added eight points and senior guard Jeff Haddock, Jr. collected seven points (3-6 FG).
TCNJ shot 24-of-29 from the line—82.8 percent—and knocked down 10 three pointers. The Lions outscored NJCU in the paint, 32-16, and 13-4 on the fast break.
TCNJ used an 11-0 run to seize an early 11-2 lead and NJCU never got closer than four points the rest of the half. The Lions opened a 10-point, 23-13 lead with 11:54 left in the opening half and were ahead by as many as 14 points, 34-20, on a three-point play by Jocelyn with 6:13 remaining in the period. The Lions led by double figures the entire second half with its largest lead reaching 27 (81-54) with 6:46 to go.
NOTABLES:
- Series: 147th known meeting during the NJAC era (since 1955-56). NJCU leads all-time, 79-48. TCNJ also won on January 8, 62-55, to sweep the season leads the all-time leads the all-time series
- Sam Toney is in fourth place in school history in scoring with 1,710 points. He cannot reach third place on the all-time list.
- Toney has an NJCU record 223 career three pointers.
- Toney scored in double figures for the 86th time in 107 career games.
- Jahmere Calhoun scored in double figures for the eighth time this year.
UP NEXT:
- NJCU heads to Camden, N.J. on Saturday, February 15 in a must-win game against Rutgers University-Camden. NJCU won the first meeting on January 18, 83-66. It will be the 72nd meeting in a series NJCU has dominated, 66-5. NJCU has won 28 of the last 29 meetings and 56 of the last 58 matchups. The Scarlet Raptors are 7-16 and 4-12 in the NJAC, in ninth place, and have lost their last three games.
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