Box Score

CAMDEN, N.J. (Jan. 21, 2017) – The nationally-ranked New Jersey City University men's basketball team roared back from a 15-point halftime deficit and overtook Rutgers University-Camden, 70-63, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Saturday.
 
NJCU, ranked No. 22 in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, improves to 15-3 overall and 9-2 in the NJAC, beating Rutgers-Camden for the 51st time in its last 53 games. The Gothic Knights lead the all-time series, 61-5.
 
The Scarlet Raptors fall to 3-13 overall and 1-10 in the NJAC.
 
The Gothic Knights are the third nationally-ranked team the Raptors have hosted in the past three weeks. They lost to No. 19 Ramapo College on Jan. 4 (94-86) and handed No. 17 Neumann University its first defeat of the season on Jan. 9 (68-67).
 
As they did against nationally-ranked Ramapo on Jan. 4, when they built a 20-point halftime lead, the Raptors once again dominated a powerhouse team in the first half. With sophomore forward/center Isaac Destin (Woodlynne, NJ/Collingswood) scoring 18 points and sophomore guard Sean Taylor (Brooklyn, NY/South Shore) adding 10, the Scarlet Raptors raced to a 44-29 lead at the break. The second half, however, was a different story.
 
NJCU out-scored Rutgers-Camden, 41-19, after the break, slicing the lead down to seven points (44-37) by scoring the first eight points of the second half. After the Scarlet Raptors recovered to hike the lead back to 12 points (54-42), the Gothic Knights sliced the margin in half with a 7-1 run, making it 55-49 with 8:41 remaining.
 
Following a layup by senior forward Dior Johnson (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson) that gave the Raptors a 57-51 lead, the Gothic Knights rattled off the next eight points, tying the game at 57-57 on a tip-in by freshman forward Sam Toney (Somerdale, NJ/Williamstown) with 4:54 left in the game. With 1:43 remaining, the Gothic Knights took the lead for good, 63-61, on a layup by senior guard Ata Robinson (Newark, NJ/East Side), part of a seven-point run that lifted NJCU from a 61-59 deficit to a 66-61 lead with 38 seconds left. The Raptors closed the gap to 66-63 before NJCU hit four straight foul shots to close out the game.
 
Senior guard Jalen Harris (Brandywine, MD/Gwynn Park) finished with a game-high 25 points for the Gothic Knights, while Toney added 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Robinson added eight points and five assists.
 
Destin finished with 22 points for the Scarlet Raptors, while Sean Taylor had 10. Sophomore guard Elijah Robles (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) had nine points and tied junior guard Marcus Taylor (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) and NJCU's Robinson with a game-high five assists. Junior guard Shafeek Taylor (Philadelphia, PA/Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School) notched a game-high 10 rebounds and added eight points.
 
NJCU shot 22-for-58 (37.9 percent) from the floor and 18-for-23 (78.3) from the foul line, while Rutgers-Camden went 22-for-47 (46.8) from the floor and 13-for-18 (72.2) from the line. The Gothic Knights held a 31-29 edge off the boards, but also forced 17 Raptor turnovers – 10 in the second half – while making only eight.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to action Monday night with a 7 p.m. non-conference game at City College of New York. NJCU hosts William Paterson University in an 8 p.m. NJAC game Wednesday.