JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The New Jersey City University men's basketball team got back to .500, both overall and in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play, with a strong 79-68 victory on Wednesday night, Dec. 8, over Kean University at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC).
 
NJCU (5-5, 2-2 NJAC) is now on its second winning streak of the season, after starting off 3-1, with its victory over the Cougars (6-3, 1-3 NJAC). The Gothic Knights were led by senior Denzel Banks' (Newark, NJ/East Orange Campus) team-high 22 points – 16 of which came in an efficient 8-of-12 shooting performance in the first half – as well as three other players in double-figures. Freshman Corey Manning-Floyd (Jersey City, N.J./Snyder) had the best outing of his brief collegiate career, scoring a season-best 15 points to go with eight boards in the absence of some key players from the NJCU lineup.
 
The first half started out as a back-and-forth affair before sophomore Ryan Savoy (Lakewood, N.J./Lakewood) put an exclamation point on a mini 6-0 run with a dunk to make it a seven-point, 15-8 lead for the Gothic Knights with 14:32 remaining until the break. Eventually, Jersey City stretched it out to a 10-point, 24-14 lead after a 7-0 run, with back-to-back buckets in the paint from Manning-Floyd and then a three from senior Kayton Darley (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) at the 11:24 mark. NJCU led by as many as 11 in the first after a pair of Manning-Floyd foul shots at 3:05, making it 39-28 before ending the half up nine, 41-32.
 
The Gothic Knights went back up by 11 early on the second thanks to a jumper from Darley at 19:25, and then again at 17:37 following a foul shot from rookie Leon Lawson (Rahway, N.J./Rahway). However, the game suddenly became close when Kean awoke with an 11-1 run, ending with a pair of free throws at the 14:11 mark to make it a one-point, 45-44 NJCU lead. The Cougars continued to hang around for the next few minutes before eventually taking the one-point, 54-53 lead with 9:02 left.
 
Thankfully, the Gothic Knights answered back with a long, 14-3 run of their own, sinking a good amount of free throws down the stretch to regain a 10-point lead at 67-57 with 3:08 left. NJCU's advantage hovered around that mark for the remainder of the night before Jersey City came away with the 11-point, 79-68 victory over the Cougars, whom the Gothic Knights have now defeated 15 consecutive times, dating all the way back to Nov. 22, 2014.
 
Highlights:
- Banks added a game-high-tying nine rebounds on the night.
- Darley pulled down eight boards and chipped in 13 points.
- Savoy also ended the night in double-figures with 10 points and a game-high three blocks. He now has a team-high 32 shots turned away for the season, by far the most in the NJAC. He also entered the night ranked seventh in all of Division III in total blocks and 10th in blocks per game.
 
Up Next:
NJCU looks to stretch its current winning streak to three in a row as the squad hits the road this Saturday afternoon, Dec. 11, for a 3:00 p.m. matchup with The College of New Jersey in Ewing, N.J. The two teams did not face each other during last year's abbreviated season.