MAHWAH, N.J. — In a back and forth affair, where each team held strong leads at points during the game, the New Jersey City University men's basketball team was able to come back from six points down early in the second, build up a strong lead and then hang on for the hard-fought New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) victory on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 5, over Ramapo College on the road. Senior tri-captain Denzel Banks (Newark, NJ/East Orange Campus) poured in 19 first-half points en route to his game-best 23 in the win.

NJCU (11-11, 8-7 NJAC) led the Roadrunners (4-15, 3-11 NJAC) for the majority of the first half of play, but Ramapo was able to slowly claw its way back and ended up taking a one-point, 28-27 lead with 1:43 remaining. Rookie Felix Romero (Perth Amboy, N.J./Perth Amboy Tech) split a pair of foul shots with five seconds left until the break to knot it up at 28-28 after 20:00 of play. As mentioned, Banks was the hottest player on the court in the first, draining 19 points, while no other player had more than seven. He was 7-of-10 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from long range in the first. After missing his first shot of the day, he sank his next six.

Deadlocked to start the second, Ramapo went on a 6-0 run to take a 34-28 lead. The Gothic Knights then took control and slowly chipped away at the deficit before eventually building a game-high eight-point advantage at 52-44 with 8:20 remaining. From that point on, defense was the name of the game as neither squad was able to muster much offensively. The Roadrunners actually outscored NJCU 11-5 down the stretch, but when it mattered, Jersey City got the stops the squad needed to secure its eighth NJAC victory of the season. The game-winning bucket came at the 1:11 mark. Freshman Ben Todd (Woodland Hills, Calif./El Camino Real Charter) snagged the defensive board on a big miss by Ramapo at 1:46. The ball eventually found senior tri-captain Jason Battle (Jersey City, N.J./Roselle Catholic), who missed a jumper at 1:14. Banks jumped all over that one, tipping it right back into the bucket for the eventual game-winner.

Highlights:
- Banks also led all players with a game-high 12 rebounds to go with his 23 points, giving him his first double-double of the season and sixth of his career. He also chipped in four assists, two steals and a block.
- Todd continued his strong performance streak with NJCU, notching his third-straight double-digit scoring total. He contributed 14 points on 6-of-9 from the flood to go with three boards and a pair of blocks.

Up Next:
Jersey City returns to action on Wednesday evening, Feb. 9, at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC). The Gothic Knights face off with Rowan University at 8:00 p.m. Make sure to check out NJCU's most updated spectator policiy (www.NJCUGothicKnights.com/spectators). If you cannot attend, be sure to tune in live on GothicVision.