JERSEY CITY, NJ – Junior guard James Johnson (Summit, NJ/Summit HS) had 19 points, including a pair of crucial free throws to give Rutgers-Newark the lead for good with a minute left, as the Scarlet Raiders survived a New Jersey City rally, 59-55, to earn a slot in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Tournament.
NCAA Box Score & Play-by-Play
2009 New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Tournament Bracket (PDF)
The Scarlet Raiders (14-11, NJAC 7-6) claimed the North Division's third and final seed in the six-team tournament and will travel to The College of New Jersey on Saturday for a 1 o'clock first round battle. The Rutgers-Newark win gave it a one-game edge over Ramapo in the battle for the final division slot, while TCNJ knocked off Kean, 71-54, tonight to take the second seed in the South Division.
Junior forward DeShawn Singleton (Passaic, NJ/Passaic), who did not play in the Raiders' 92-88 double overtime loss to the Gothic Knights (10-15, NJAC 4-9) on January 28, tallied 13 points and pulled down six rebounds for Rutgers-Newark. Senior forward David Cherry (Linden, NJ/Roselle Catholic) netted a dozen points while junior forward Phil Barnes (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) helped the team build a 41-34 edge in rebounding by pulling down a game-high 10 boards.
Down 48-31 with 14:54 left, the Gothic Knights staged a furious rally behind the play of senior guard Kyle Ingram and sophomore guard Corey Dixon to catch the Raiders at 55-55 with 1:28 left. Ingram, who finished with 18 points, netted a dozen points in the 24-7 spurt, including a pair of free throws to cap the run. Dixon knocked down a pair of 3-point jumpers for his only points of the night to help fuel the rally.
On a night when the deciding factor was the Raider' 22-for-30 performance at the foul line, Johnson put the Raiders up 57-55 with 59.1 seconds left by making two free throws.
An NJCU turnover with 29 seconds left forced the Gothic Knights to foul junior guard Tim Smith (Mullica Hill, NJ/Camden Catholic) with 21 ticks remaining. Smith, who finished with just three points, made the first free throw before missing the second to give the Gothic Knights one final try. Smith, who did not score from the field, made up by hauling down eight rebounds, dishing out three assists and making a game-high four steals.
NJCU junior guard Josh Lopez got off a 3-point jumper under pressure with less than 10 seconds left, but Barnes collected the rebound and was fouled immediately. Barnes made the first of two free throw tries to ice the win with five second left.
Rutgers-Newark will make its unprecedented fourth trip to the NJAC Championship Tournament in the last five seasons after failing to make the field last season.
