JERSEY CITY, N.J. – For the first time in program history, the New Jersey City University men's basketball team hosted the #1 team in all of NCAA Division III – according to the most recent d3hoops.com top 25 rankings. The Gothic Knights put up an extremely tough fight, including an exciting late-second half comeback against the Maccabees on Wednesday night, Dec. 15, at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC), however YU eventually came out on top, 93-86. This was NJCU's second match-up against a #1-ranked team this season and is the only team in the country to so at this point in the season.
 
Jersey City (6-6) entered the night on a three-game winning streak, but unfortunately ran into the nation's longest active victorious run at any level of collegiate competition – which now stands at 50 in a row – in the Maccabees (14-0). All was not doom and gloom for the Gothic Knights, however, as at one point, Yeshiva led by as many as 24 points late in the first half, but NJCU mustered up all the momentum it could – trailing by 23 with 12:08 remaining in the second – to trim that gap all the way down to a four-point advantage with just 1:29 left in regulation. The Gothic Knight faithful, over 1,200 strong, were loud and proud and let the nation's top squad know it. Despite this, that was as close as the Green and Gold would get in the seven-point loss – the closest margin of victory for Yeshiva this season, and since Feb. 21, 2021, when the Maccabees defeated the University of Rochester, 70-63.
 
The Gothic Knights had solid performances from several individuals on the night, led by junior Derryen Whyte (Irvington, N.J./Union) and senior Kayton Darley (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen). Whyte finished the night with a career-high 27 points on 50.0 shooting (9-of-18) and was 8-of-9 from the line, despite only playing 28 minutes with four fouls. Darley ended the night with 13 points and sophomore Ryan Savoy (Lakewood, N.J./Lakewood) pulled down a game-high-tying 10 boards to go with nine points. Senior Denzel Banks (Newark, NJ/East Orange Campus) also chipped in nine points before fouling out late and is now just seven points shy of 1,000 for his career.
 
Once again, however, those individual stat lines were not enough as the nation's front runner for d3hoops.com men's Player of the Year, Yeshiva's senior 6-foot-7 guard Ryan Turell scored a game-high 41 points, 10 off from his career high of 51, which he scored earlier this season. Junior guard Ofek Reed was YU's second-leading scorer with 20.
 
How it Happened
Neither squad was able to get on the board in the early going, with NJCU taking the brief 2-0 lead at 18:26 following a bucket underneath from Savoy. However, it was the Maccabees from that point on for the remainder of the half as the visitors led by a game-high 24 at 49-25 with 00:54 left in the first.
 
The Gothic Knights sank a free throw from Savoy with 00:32 left and a layup from junior Owen Roberts III (Teaneck, N.J./Dwight Morrow) at 00:17 to trim it down to a 21-point game. To start the second half, NJCU continued its brief early run, making it an 8-0 stretch with a three-point play – basket and the foul – right away from Darley and then a lay-in from Whyte to trim it to 16 less than a minute in. Jersey City eventually made it a 13-point, 57-44 game thanks to Darley's jumper at 16:01 in its first attempt at a comeback. However, as mentioned, Yeshiva stretched it back out to a 23-point, 71-48 game with just over 12 minutes left.
 
From that point forward, until the 1:29 mark at the end of the second half, NJCU outscored Yeshiva 36-17, including 16 points during that stretch from Whyte. The Gothic Knights defense also clamped down on Turell, holding the California dreamer to just six points over that time. Freshman Leon Lawson (Rahway, N.J./Rahway) also made an impact off the bench, grabbing five rebounds and six points – he finished with eight points and six boards over 14 minutes. Late in that run, Whyte scored nine straight for NJCU to make it a four-point, 88-84 game. However, the Maccabees went 5-of-6 from the line in the final minute of the game to take the win.
 
Up Next
Jersey City will take the Holiday Break to recover from one the tougher games in the program's recent history tonight before returning to action for New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play in the New Year on Wednesday night, Jan. 5. The Gothic Knights will hit the road in South Jersey for a match-up with Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J. It will be the first meeting between the two squads since Jan. 25, 2020, as the Profs opted out of the 2020-21 season. NJCU has won two straight against Rowan, including a 28-point performance form Banks in that last win against the Profs.