NEW YORK, N.Y. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University shot 67.9 percent (19-28) in the second half to pull away from host John Jay College to secure an 88-75 victory in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Tournament First Round on March 4 at the Dogpound. NJCU improved to 17-0 all-time against John Jay.
NJCU, the No. 3 seed in the section of the 14-team tournament, improved to 14-13 on the season and advances to face No. 4 seed Baruch College (18-10) in the ECAC Quarterfinals on Friday, March 6 at 2 p.m. at Gwynedd Mercy University in Gwynedd Valley, Pa. John Jay, the No. 2 seed in the pod, and the CUNYAC regular season champions, sees its season end at 20-7. The Bearcats eliminated the pod's top seed, Widener, 93-77.
Six different players scored in double figures for NJCU, which led 39-36 at the half. Senior small forward Jaimik Moore led NJCU with 18 points—11 in the first half—shooting a near perfect 7-of-8 from the field (2-3 3FG) and 2-of-2 from the line with five rebounds and three assists. Junior point guard Tarique Holmes had the best effort of his NJCU career with 16 points (6-11 FG) and nine assists against just one turnover. NJCU only committed seven turnovers on the night.
Junior shooting guard Denzel Banks tallied 17 points (7-12 FG) with eight boards and four assists while senior power forward Sam Toney netted a near double-double with 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Junior power forward Jahmere Calhoun had 10 points (5-10 FG) and five caroms while sophomore guard Kayton Darley scored all 11 of his points in the first half on 5-of-8 shooting.
Senior forward Jayson Brower (Syracuse, N.Y.) led all scorers for the Bloodhounds with 23 points and six boards while junior forward Kyle LaGuardia (Smithtown, N.Y.) had 12 points and six assists. Freshman wing Garrison Watkins (Staten Island, N.Y.) (4-5 FG) finished with 11 points and junior guard Romello Ford (Staten Island, N.Y.) had 10 points. Senior forward Doug Levy (Smithtown, N.Y.) collected nine points and six assists.
NJCU, despite being outsized by John Jay, had a 48-34 scoring advantage in the paint and held a 16-2 differential on the fast break.
In a back and forth first half, neither side led by more than five through the first 10 minutes. The Knights would open a 31-24 edge with 5:48 to go on a fastbreak by Toney before heading to the break up three.
Still a two-point game early in the second half, NJCU opened it to seven points on three instances—a pair of baskets by Banks and a dunk by Calhoun—and expanded it to nine, 58-49, on a putback by freshman center Michael Clement. A three-point play by Holmes with 12:31 left gave NJCU its first double-digit lead of the night and Holmes hit another jumper with 11:39 to go for a 12-point margin. John Jay never got closer than seven the rest of the game and the Knights led by as many as 16 points in the final minutes.
NOTABLES:
- Series: 17th meeting between NJCU and John Jay—the last coming on November 19, 2013. NJCU has never lost to the Bloodhounds, owning a perfect 17-0 all-time record in the leads the all-time series. It was the second meeting ever in the postseason; then Jersey City State defeated John Jay in the 1983 ECAC Metro Semifinals, 82-67, in Staten Island, N.Y. on March 4, 1983.
- 86th postseason game NJCU has played in its history—45th ECAC Tournament game to go with 41 NCAA Tournament contests; NJCU's 43rd postseason appearance all-time as an NCAA Division III program.
- Between 21 ECAC and 21 NCAA Tournaments, it owns an all-time postseason ledger of 48-38 (.558).
- The Knights own an all-time 31-14 (.689) record in 45 ECAC tournament games.
- NJCU has won a record seven ECAC Metro championships—1981, 1983, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2006 and 2016—the most of any school.
- Sam Toney is in fourth place in school history in scoring with 1,765 points.
- Toney has an NJCU record 231 career three pointers.
- Toney scored in double figures for the 89th time in 111 career games.
- Denzel Banks scored in double figures for the 19th time this season and for the 33rd time in 55 career games.
- Jaimik Moore scored in double figures for the 16th time in 21 games.
- Tarique Holmes scored in double figures for the sixth time this season and his nine assists tied his NJCU career high of nine on November 26 against Kean.
- Jahmere Calhoun scored in double figures for the 10th time in his first season for the Gothic Knights.
- Kayton Darley scored in double figures for the seventh time in his first season for the Gothic Knights.
UP NEXT:
Eight teams remain in the ECAC Tournament and all the action now shifts to The Griffin Complex at Gwynedd Mercy University. Up next will be NJCU's first meeting with Baruch since the Knights blew out the Bearcats, 94-55, in the 2016 ECAC Semifinals on March 5, 2016. NJCU leads the all-time series with Baruch, 6-0, including 2-0 in the playoffs.
GOTHIC KNIGHTS on SOCIAL MEDIA:
For the latest on #NJCUMBB, follow the Gothic Knights on social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and SnapChat. We Are Jersey City's Team.
—www.NJCUGothicKnights.com | #JerseyCitysTeam—