Jersey City, NJ: The New Jersey City University men's basketball team held off a Ramapo College comeback tonight as the Gothic Knights earned a 60-56 win. The Gothic Knights move to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the NJAC while the Roadrunners drop to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference.
The Roadrunners saw themselves up six (17-11) with 9:06 in the first half on a jumper from Elijah Barlow before NJCU went on an 8-1 run to take a 19-18 lead with under six minutes to play in the half. Shane Rooney put in a layup for the Roadrunners before a pair of free throws from NJCU gave them the lead with less than five minutes to play, 21-20. NJCU stretched their lead to four with a three-pointer from Jaheim Lewis, 27-23, before Ramapo scored the final two baskets of the first half. Rooney and Anthony Corbo sank back-to-back baskets to close out the half and tied the game at 27.
In the second half with the game tied at 31, NJCU went on a 6-0 run to take a 37-31 lead with 16:00 on the clock. Ramapo would shrink the lead back to four before a tip-in and three-pointer from the Gothic Knights stretched their lead back to nine, 44-35. With 11:09 on the clock, NJCU took their first double digit lead of the half, 47-37, on a free throw from Avante Gilbert. Tim Linton scored two for Ramapo before Gilbert sank a jumper, 49-39. Ramapo then went on a mini 9-2 run to shrink the NJCU lead to just three with 7:32 on the clock. The two teams traded baskets before a three-pointer from Isa Johnson-Williams and a tip-in from Bakh Rogers-Robinson stretched the lead back to eight, 58-50, with 4:08 remaining. Ramapo scored the next six points capped off with an and-one play from Jordan Myers with 1:22 on the clock cutting the NJCU lead to just two, 58-56. The Roadrunners had chances down the stretch but could not convert as the Gothic Knight scored the final points of the game on the free throw line for the 60-56 win.
Three Roadrunners scored in double figures in the game as Peter Gorman led the way with 13 points, seven rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot. Corbo and Myers each added ten points and two steals while Corbo added six rebounds. Linton recorded eight points off the bench for the Roadrunners along with four rebounds, two blocks and one steal. Ramapo shot 40% (23-57) from the floor in the game, 9% (1-11) from the three-point line and 60% (9-15) from the free throw line. The Ramapo defense forced 17 NJCU turnovers which led to 16 points for Ramapo.
For NJCU, Jaheim Lewis led the team with 19 points and nine rebounds while Gilbert added 13 points, four rebounds and one steal. Rogers-Robinson contributed with ten points, five rebounds and two steals. The Gothic Knights shot 37% (23-61) from the field, 33% (5-15) from the three-point line and 64% (9-14) from the free throw line.
The Roadrunners return to action on Sunday, December 1st when they travel to Sarah Lawrence College for a non-conference game at 1:00 PM.