Box Score

Jersey City, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's basketball team dropped a 66-53 decision at New Jersey City University on Saturday evening.

The loss drops the Lions to 6-11 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference and down to eighth place overall in the standings. TCNJ is is now out of the playoff race even if they win on Wednesday night, due to the tie-breaker system emplyed by the conference. The criteria in the case of a tie is head-to-head results, followed by records of teams that finished above you in the standings.

Rowan University, who currently stands at 7-10, would have an additional win in that category, largely in part to a 75-59 win over Kean University on December 12.

A forgettable second half by TCNJ led to the loss at the hands of NJCU. The Lions led 31-18 at the break, but a 23-0 run by the Gothic Knights over a nine-minute span turned the game around in the second half. NJCU shot a meager 28 percent (18-for-64) in the game, but 26 turnovers by the Lions was the difference in the contest.

The Gothic Knights also took advantage from the free throw line, dropping in 25-of-34 shots from the charity stripe. Sophomore Khalid Muhammad led all scorers with 18 points, connecting on 7-of-14 shots from the floor. Jourdan Roberson finished with 13 points and five steals, while senior Walik Albright also reached double figures with 11 points.

Junior Jayson Johnson (Bordentown, NJ/Life Center Academy) tallied 16 and dished out four assists to lead the Lions. Freshman Eric Klacik (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) netted 10 points, while sophomore Bobby Brackett (Lawrence, NJ/Lawrence) finished with seven points, 15 rebounds, and two blocked shots.

Brackett now has 315 rebounds on the season and is eight shy from tying the program record for rebounds in a season. The record is held by Paul Brateris '67, who set the mark with 323 boards during the 1964-65 season. Brateris was recently inducted into TCNJ's Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame this past October.

TCNJ returns to Packer Hall this Wednesday night for its regular season finale against Montclair State University at 8 p.m.