JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey City University men's basketball team picked up its second straight victory in the early-going of the 2022-23 season tonight, Wednesday, Nov. 16. The Gothic Knights hosted Hudson County rival Stevens Institute of Technology to open up home play at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC) on Coach Charlie Brown Court and topped the Ducks — receiving votes in the preseason D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll — by 10 points at 58-48. Jersey City forced 19 Stevens turnovers and had 16 points off of those miscues to boot.

NJCU (2-1) saw contributions from up and down its roster, led by junior forward Avante Gilbert (Paterson, N.J./International), who led the team with 14 points on an efficient 5-of-7 shooting and 4-of-4 from the line. Another junior forward in Jacob Valeus (Pleasantville, N.J./Pleasantville) had nine points, while a third junior forward in Ryan Savoy (Lakewood, N.J./Lakewood) had a team-high nine boards, four points, a game-best three steals and a team-best four blocks in 23 minutes on the floor. The Ducks (0-3) were led by Jack Spellman, as the big man had 10 points, 16 boards and seven blocked shots.

Stevens led by as many as three points early in the first half at 9-6 with 13:49 to go until the break. From that point on, the Gothic Knights did not give up another inch. A 14-2 run through to the 8:43 mark made it a nine-point, 20-11 Jersey City lead, including eight points from the combination of Valeus and Gilbert. The Ducks did manage to trim the gap back dow to five points after a brief 6-0 run, however NJCU closed out the half on an 8-0 run, including a three-pointer from Valeus — the squad's only made long ball of the night — and took a 12-point, 33-21 advantage into the break.

Half number two was more of the same for the Green and Gold, who eventually stretched their lead out to a game-high 17 in the late stages of the second at 58-41 with 2:38 remaining. No Gothic Knight scored more than four points in the second half, however nine different players registered at least point in the final 20:00 and 11 total scored at least a point for NJCU on the night overall. Keeping the Ducks grounded, the Knights eventually game away with the 10-point, 58-48 win.

Highlights:
- Jersey City held Stevens to 28.3 percent shooting (17-for-60).
- Additionally, led by 16 combined points from Valeus and junior forward Pharoh Allah (Rahway, N.J./St. Genevieve (Calif.)), the NJCU bench outscored the Ducks' bench 29-16.
- Senior guard Jason Battle (Jersey City, N.J./Roselle Catholic) ended his night with six points and five boards after battling foul trouble throughout.

Up Next:
The Gothic Knights head out to Dallas, Pa., on Saturday, Nov. 19, for their final non-conference tune-up prior to the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play. NJCU clashes with Misericordia University in a 1:00 p.m. tipoff. Jersey City last faced the Cougars on neutral ground on Dec. 30, 2016 and topped them 87-72.