Box Score

Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's basketball outscored visiting New Jersey City University 19-6 in the final seven minutes of play en route to a thrilling 79-74 victory in Packer Hall on Saturday afternoon.

A tremendous team effort in the second half led by junior Jayson Johnson (Bordentown, NJ/Life Center Academy) and sophomore forward Bobby Brackett (Lawrence, NJ/Lawrence) spearheaded the comeback win as the Lions were victorious for the sixth time in their last eight games. TCNJ moved to 7-8 overall and 5-4 in league play, while the Gothic Knights dropped to 8-7 on the season and 4-5 in the NJAC.

While the Lions' offense performed well, connecting on 57.5 percent of their shots, their defense late in the game was equally responsible in triumph. They held NJCU to just two field goals over the final seven minutes.

Johnson finished with a career-high 25 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor and 11-of-15 from the line. Brackett tallied 23 points (17 in the second half) and nine rebounds.

Senior Walik Albright (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) and junior Jamil McDaniel (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) each scored 18 points in the loss. Sophomore Khalid Muhammad (Orange, NJ/Orange) added 12 points and four steals.

Entering the game with top-ranked defense in the conference, the Gothic Knights made it difficult for the Lion offense to get off shots in the first half. They caused 11 turnovers, but also committed 15 personal fouls, limiting TCNJ's offense to just 16 field goal attempts. They took more shots from the charity stripe (19) in the first 20 minutes of play. Fortunately for the Lions, they hit 10 of those field goal attempts and made 16 free throws to trail by just three points at the break.

Johnson bucketed 12 points in the opening period, while freshman Eric Klacik (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) tallied nine points. Junior Darius Griffin, Jr. (Piscataway, NJ/Bishop Ahr) provided a big spark off the bench, hustling to keep plays alive and generate tempo. He dished out a pair of assists, collected two rebounds, and stole a pass in 10 impactful minutes of play.

McDaniel paced the NJCU offense with 10 points, while Albright scored nine and copped three steals in the half.

The contest grew with intensity throughout the second half. The Gothic Knight lead swelled to 14 points with 12:54 left in the game, but TCNJ battled to chip away. Johnson was key, racing coast-to-coast to bank in a layup to cut the deficit to 64-58. A pull-up jumper followed by another dagger from the baseline drew the Lions within three with five minutes to play.

The crowd was then brought to its feet when sophomore Emmanuel Matlock (Trenton, NJ/Solebury) lofted a pass to a leaping Brackett who slammed home the alley-oop. Brackett then drained two free throws followed by a deep 3-pointer from junior Skyelar Ettin (Princeton, NJ/Princeton), capping a 9-0 run that gave TCNJ a 74-70 lead with 3:06 to play.

The Lions held the Gothic Knights without a basket for over five minutes, but a three-point field goal by McDaniel with 12.7 seconds on the clock shaved the Lion advantage to three points. Johnson was fouled on the inbounds pass and converted both free throws to seal the win.

TCNJ returns to Packer Hall on Monday evening. They take on the City College of New York for a non-conference match-up slated for 7 p.m.