JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The New Jersey City University men's basketball team edged Montclair State University for a huge win on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 15, at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC). The Gothic Knights defeated the Red Hawks 69-66 to stay over .500 overall and now 6-3 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC).

NJCU (9-7, 6-3 NJAC) started off slow, but senior Kayton Darley (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) got the Green and Gold on the board with a fade-away jump shot to get the action going. The Gothic Knights heated up following back-to-back jumpers by sophomore Ryan Savory and freshman Corey Manning-Floyd (Jersey City, N.J./Snyder) – both assisted by freshman Ben Todd (Woodland Hills, Calif./El Camino Real Charter). Jersey City jumped to a seven point lead, leading to a Red Hawk timeout seven minutes into the half. 

After a 6-0 run by MSU midway through the first half, the Gothic Knights kept the pressure on the offensive side. Sophomore Hakeem Wilson (Newark, N.J./North Star Academy) joined in the scoring haul with a driving-floater to extend the NJCU lead to eight points. 

The Red Hawks did not let up, as they went on another run of their own to cut Jersey City's lead down to one point. With only four minutes remaining in the half, Manning-Floyd and the Gothic Knights responded again with a clutch three-point basket to pull away in the lead. MSU was not done or backing off just yet – with one minute left in the first half, Amir Williams gave the Red Hawks their first lead of the game. The Gothic Knights went into halftime trailing 34-33. 

To begin the second half, Todd showed off his sharp-shooting with a baseline jump shot to recapture the NJCU lead. Moving forward, both teams battled and responded with points up-and-down the court. The leadership for the Gothic Knights stepped up in the final three minutes which led the Green squad to victory. Seniors Denzel Banks (Newark, NJ/East Orange Campus), Jason Battle (Jersey City, N.J./Roselle Catholic), and Darley combined for the final 13 points for Jersey City. Banks captured the game-winning basket with .54 seconds to play after finishing a tough lay-in. Battle sealed the deal for NJCU, going 5-6 on his free-throws in the final 30 seconds, finishing the game with 11 points and three dimes. 

Highlights:
• Senior captain Banks finished with a game-high 18 points and eight boards
• Total of nine different NJCU scorers for tonight's contest
• 19 fast-break points vs MSU six fast-break points

Up Next:
The Gothic Knights return to action on Wednesday night, Jan. 19, for a 8:00 p.m. match-up with Rutgers-Newark University in Newark, N.J. NJCU will look to avenge their 68-58 defeat against the Scarlet Raiders from this past November. Banks ended with a team-high 22 points in the previous competition against Rutgers-Newark.