JERSEY CITY, N.J. (Feb. 19, 2022) – The New Jersey City University men's basketball team scored the first 11 points of the game and went on to eliminate Rutgers University-Camden, 80-52, in the first round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs here Saturday.
 
The two teams split their regular-season NJAC series, with both winning on their home court. NJCU kept that home court trend going as it raised its record to 12-14. The Gothic Knights will continue post-season play with a 7:30 p.m. NJAC quarterfinal game at second-seeded Rowan University Tuesday.
 
Rutgers-Camden closes its season with a 1-21 record.
 
The seventh-seeded Gothic Knights held the 10th-seeded Scarlet Raptors off the boards for the first 4:46 before a layup by sophomore guard Gavin Henry cut the gap to 11-2 and ignited a six-point Rutgers-Camden run. The Gothic Knights regrouped, however, and forged to a 35-21 halftime lead behind seven points apiece from senior guard Denzel Banks and senior forward Kayton Darley.
 
Rutgers-Camden, which made 12 turnovers in the opening half, saw sophomore forward Jordan Carter score 11 points in the opening 20 minutes.
 
NJCU outscored Rutgers-Camden, 45-31, after the break to break the game open. The Gothic Knights led by as many as 31 points (80-49) before sophomore guard Chris Ray closed out the scoring with a late-game trey.
 
All 13 players in the game scored for NJCU, led by 18 points from junior guard Derryen White. Darley netted 11 points and Banks added 10. Banks and freshman forward Corey Manning-Floyd grabbed six rebounds apiece to tie for game-high honors, helping the Gothic Knights to control the boards, 43-23.
 
Carter led the Scarlet Raptors with 18 points, while Henry added seven. Carter and junior guard Jaymes Savage tied for team-high rebounding honors with five apiece.
 
NJCU shot 26-for-59 (44.1 percent) from the floor and 23-for-28 (82.1) from the foul line, while Rutgers-Camden went 16-for-43 (37.2) and 14-for-20 (70.0).