LOUDONVILLE, NY (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University was within striking distance of Division I mid-major Siena College at halftime before the Saints used a 10-0 run in the first two minutes of the second half to claim an 88-56 victory over the Gothic Knights in a highly-anticipated men's basketball exhibition game on November 2 at the Alumni Rec Center.
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Team Stat Comparison |
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NJCU |
SIENA |
|
Score |
56 |
88 |
|
Half-Time Score |
30 |
40 |
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Field Goal Percentage |
.300 (18-60) |
.588 (30-51) |
|
Three-Point Percentage |
.583 (7-12) |
.286 (4-14) |
|
Free Throw Percentage |
.448 (13-29) |
.632 (24-38) |
|
Rebounds (O-D-T) |
11-21-32 |
4-42-46 |
|
Assists |
10 |
22 |
|
Turnovers |
10 |
11 |
|
Blocks |
1 |
9 |
|
Steals |
6 |
6 |
|
Fouls |
26 |
26 |
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Largest Lead |
1 |
37 |
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Points in the Paint |
16 |
38 |
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Points off Turnovers |
19 |
17 |
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Second Change Points |
5 |
7 |
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Fast Break Points |
9 |
14 |
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Bench Points |
28 |
32 |
Playing in front of its biggest crowd in nearly seven years (1,069 total), NJCU only committed 10 turnovers in the contest but couldn't match Siena's accuracy, particularly in the second half when the Saints shot a sizzling 69.2 percent (18-of-26) and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) perennial power finished the game making 58.8 percent from the floor (30-51).
In a homecoming for seventh-year head coach Marc Brown, a 1991 Siena graduate and that program's all-time leading scorer and greatest player, the reigning New Jersey Athletic Conference Coach of the Year received a warm welcome from the home crowd in his first appearance on the floor at the ARC during a collegiate game in more than 20 years.
Siena shot just 4-of-14 from long range but dominated the lane where it outscored NJCU, 38-16. While the Saints didn't have a drastic size advantage over their Division III counterparts, the experience was evident as Siena out-rebounded NJCU, 46-32, including 42-21 on the defensive glass. Siena shot 26-of-37 (.703) from two-point distance.
"The atmosphere was great and it felt good to be back; I just wish we performed better," Brown noted. "The reaction [to his return] was good and I saw many old faces at the game. The support at Siena is great."
"But you saw the difference in talent. They showed us why they are Division I and we are Division III. They were much more physical and have more polished players. Hopefully this will inspire our guys to work harder in practice, leading up to our season opener [November 16]. We were completely dominated on both ends of the floor and a game like this proves how much we need to improve to get where we want to be competitively this season."
READ MORE: http://www.njcugothicknights.com/news/2013/11/2/11-02-13_MBASKETBALL_NJCU_vs_Siena.aspx