JERSEY CITY, N.J. — In one of the most unexpected turn of events in NCAA Division III men's college basketball this season, the New Jersey City University Gothic Knights took down the #23-ranked Rowan University Profs — previously unbeaten in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play — via an improbable sequence in the final seconds at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC) on Wednesday night, Feb. 8. Trailing by four with just over five seconds remaining, junior forward Ryan Savoy (Lakewood, N.J./Lakewood) was open and drilled a corner three at 2.8 seconds. Then, junior guard Pharoh Allah (Rahway, N.J./St. Genevieve (Calif.)) got a tip on the inbounds to force the turnover before senior guard Jason Battle (Jersey City, N.J./Roselle Catholic) came up the ball and threw up a prayer shot from DEEP ... and drained the buzzer-beater for the 73-71 win. The play subsequently reached #1 on ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10 Plays.
NJCU (11-12, 6-10 NJAC) started off the night strong and stayed with the Profs (19-4, 15-1 NJAC) all night long before dealing Rowan its first loss in conference play this season. The Profs had previously won 11 straight this season and 21 straight in NJAC play dating back to Jan. 31, 2022, before the Gothic Knights dealt them the dramatic buzzer-beating blow tonight. Rowan started off the night strong and eventually built up a 10-point, 29-19 lead with 7:20 to go in the first half. Jersey City eventually chipped that deficit down to four points on a couple occasions down the stretch in the first and ended the first half down by just five at 39-34.
The second half was a different story, filled with countless fouls — including five technicals and three ejections — and free throw opportunities on each side, however the Gothic Knights came out on top with the seven-point, 39-32 advantage en route to the two-point, 73-71 victory. Rowan built back up to a nine-point, 43-34 lead with 18:51 to go, but then NJCU got it back down to two at 45-43 before things took a turn. With 14:05 remaining, a scuffle took place that resulted in a pair of double technicals and another single tech following a Rowan shooting foul, resulting in three ejections. The Gothic Knights, trailing by five at 48-43, converted on three of the four subsequent free throws to make it a two-point game at 48-46 — that started off a 5-0 run to tie it up at 48-48 with 13:55 left.
Both squads traded the lead back and forth until the Gothic Knights built up a six-point, 60-54 lead with 8:47 to go. Despite that, Rowan managed to take back control before leading by four points with only eight seconds remaining in regulation. From there, the story goes as Savoy and Battle do from three-point range...
Highlights:
- Savoy led NJCU with 15 points, six boards, three dime and a block in 32 minutes off the bench.
- Battle dished out five assists to go with 13 points, a game-high-tying three steals and two rebounds.
- Junior forward Avante Gilbert (Paterson, N.J./International) also chipped in 13 to go with three boards, a block and a steal.
- Rookie guard Bakhi Rogers-Robinson (Orange, N.J./West Caldwell Tech) saw 17 minutes off the bench before fouling out late. He scored nine points.
- Allah pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to go with eight points, two blocks and two steals.
Up Next:
With the massive victory over Rowan, the Gothic Knights now sit alone in sixth place in the NJAC standings, one game ahead of Ramapo College and Rutgers-Newark, who are both 5-11 in conference play. Jersey City controls its own destiney when it comes to the NJAC Tournament. NJCU first faces second-ranked Stockton University on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 11, at 3:00 p.m. down in Galloway, N.J. Then, on Wednesday night, Feb. 15, Jersey City closes out the regular-season at 8:00 p.m. at the JMAC against Rutgers-Camden.