Sophomore swingman DANA JOHN (Hillside, NJ/Pocono Mountain East (Pa.)) notched a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds, including six more three-pointers, and No. 2 seeded New Jersey City University never trailed, rolling past seventh-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham, 88-71, in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Metro quarterfinals, held Wednesday at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.
For the second consecutive year, NJCU (19-9) will meet Richard Stockton College (18-9) in the ECAC Semifinals. Stockton, the No. 6 seed, defeated #3 SUNY-Old Westbury, 78-73, in another quarterfinal. NJCU will host the ECAC Semifinals on Friday, March 2 at 7 p.m.
FDU, making its first appearance in the ECACs since the 1998-99 season, ends the year with a 17-10 mark. NJCU leads the all-time series which began in 1961-62, 10-0. NJCU, appearing in the post-season for the 25th consecutive year, is the defending ECAC champion after claiming the title in 2006. The Knights improve to 26-8 all-time with a .765 winning percentage in 34 ECAC games.
NJCU committed only seven turnovers—the least in a game since January 3, 2004, when the Knights had only five giveaways in a road loss to then #1 ranked Williams College (MA).
John scored his game-high 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 6-of-10 from three-point range, with 16 points in the second half. He added 10 boards—nine on the defensive glass—along with four steals and three blocks in 37 minutes. He extended his single-season record for threes to 94, and has 140 in two years. NJCU improves to 12-2 all-time, including 9-2 this year, when John scores 20 or more in a game.
The 25 points marks the seventh time this year and the eighth time overall that John has scored at least 25 in a game, and NJCU is 6-2 when that occurs. John now has exactly 500 points on the season, becoming only the second player since 1990 to reach that milestone. The only other player with 500 or more in the last 17 years was Samar Battle with 598 in 2003-04.
In all, four players reached double figures for the Knights, including senior center ABRAHAM WILLIAMS (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) who scored 10 of his 15 points in the first half. He added five assists and has 933 career points. Senior point guard ALEX MIRABEL (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) contributed 14 points (5-11 FG; 2-5 3FG), eight rebounds, four assists and three steals, and junior guard AARON DESIR (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) added 10 points (3-6 FG) in 19 reserve minutes. Junior forward MARQUES HILL (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) powered his way to eight points, eight rebounds, a career-high six blocks and four assists in 31 minutes.
The Devils were led by sophomore guard Brandon Matano (Honolulu, HI/Paramus Catholic) who scored 22 points in 26 minutes off the bench. He shot 7-of-10 from the field and 6-of-8 from three-point territory.
FDU sophomore guard Ryan McPherson (West Orange, NJ/West Orange) added 19 points (8-15 FG), while senior center Brian Rimol (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) finished with a game-high 16 rebounds (13 defensive), eight points and two blocks. Senior forward Pierre Schmitt (Park Ridge, NJ/Park Ridge) had nine points and eight rebounds.
NJCU never trailed after vaulting ahead 7-0 after a John triple. The Knights led by 10 at three stages in the middle of the first half, including a 25-15 margin off a Mirabel three at 8:56. FDU, trailing 27-18, generated an 11-3 run to close within one point, 30-29, when Matano hit a three at 5:33.
But after McPherson made it 32-31 NJCU at 4:59, the Knights sprinted to the intermission with a furious 12-2 run, leading 44-33 at the break. The Devils missed their final nine shots of the half. NJCU shot 54.5 percent in the first half (32-68).
NJCU put the game away very early in the second half as John buried back-to-back three-pointers in the first 27 seconds of the period for a 17-point, 50-33 margin, extending the run to 18-2, and the Devils missed their 11th straight field goal chance over the two halves. Another John three at 17:19 made it 53-35. That 18 point margin matched NJCU’s largest of the night. John’s 500th point of the year came on a free-throw with 6:56 remaining.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
Newspaper Box Score Fairleigh Dickinson U.-Florham vs New Jersey City University 02/28/07 7 pm at Jersey City, NJ (John J. Moore AFC) At Jersey City, NJ (John J. Moore AFC) NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY 88, FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON U.-FLORHAM 71 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON U.-FLORHAM (17-10) Brandon Matano 7-10 2-2 22; Ryan McPherson 8-15 2-5 19; Pierre Schmitt 3-16 3-4 9; Brian Rimol 3-9 2-2 8; Milton LaCroix 2-4 1-1 5; Frank Emslie 1-7 2-2 4; Brian Dillon 2-9 0-1 4; Andrew Biancosino 0-1 0-0 0; Cody Chalmers 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 26-72 12-19 71. NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY (19-9) Dana John 8-15 3-5 25; Abraham Williams 6-15 3-12 15; Alex Mirabel 5-11 2-2 14; Aaron Desir 3-6 4-7 10; Marques Hill 3-10 2-5 8; Shy Martinez 2-2 2-2 6; Luis Dominguez 2-4 0-0 4; Kevin Tucker 1-1 0-0 2; Jamal Slappy 1-1 0-0 2; Divine Lyles 1-2 0-0 2; Bruce Rice 0-0 0-0 0; Josh Lopez 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-68 16-33 88. Fairleigh Dickinson U.-Florham 33 38 - 71 New Jersey City University.... 44 44 - 88 3-point goals--Fairleigh Dickinson U.-Florham 7-26 (Brandon Matano 6-8; Ryan McPherson 1-5; Frank Emslie 0-5; Brian Dillon 0-5; Pierre Schmitt 0-3), New Jersey City University 8-20 (Dana John 6-10; Alex Mirabel 2-5; Aaron Desir 0-2; Marques Hill 0-1; Divine Lyles 0-1; Josh Lopez 0-1). Fouled out--Fairleigh Dickinson U.-Florham-None, New Jersey City University-None. Rebounds--Fairleigh Dickinson U.-Florham 50 (Brian Rimol 16), New Jersey City University 46 (Dana John 10). Assists--Fairleigh Dickinson U.-Florham 9 (Cody Chalmers 3), New Jersey City University 22 (Abraham Williams 5). Total fouls--Fairleigh Dickinson U.-Florham 23, New Jersey City University 18. Technical fouls--Fairleigh Dickinson U.-Florham-None, New Jersey City University-None. A-111 2007 Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Metro Quarterfinals. between #2 seed NJCU and #7 FDU-Florham. NJCU leads all-time series, 10-0. NJCU improves to 12-2 all-time when Dana John scores 20. NJCU advances to ECAC semifinals vs. Richard Stockton on March 2.