Crawford Powers NJCU to ECAC Quarterfinals
JERSEY CITY, N.J. - New Jersey City University used a second-half run to take control and knock off Franciscan University, 66-56, in an Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament quarterfinal game Saturday at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on the campus of NJCU.
With the win, the Gothic Knights (15-12) - five-time winners of the ECAC Tournament - now takes on the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg (22-5) in the semifinals Sunday at 2 p.m. ET in Jersey City.
NJCU - which had won just one of its last four games coming into Saturday's matchup - jumped on Franciscan (21-7) early, racing out to a 16-6 lead in the first 5:31 of the game. The Gothic Knights kept the Barons at arm's length for most of the remainder of the first half, leading by as many as 12 points and getting a layup from Arterio Williams to lead 33-23 with 3:03 to go before halftime. However, the Barons held NJCU scoreless the rest of the half and went on a 6-0 run to close to within 33-29 at the break.
The Gothic Knights made 11 of their 26 shots from the field (42.3 percent), including going 2-for-6 (33.3 percent) from 3-point range. Donovan Crawford led NJCU with 17 points and 5 rebounds and Bakhi Rogers-Robinson added eight points and two steals for the Gothic Knights.
Meanwhile, Franciscan was 10-for-30 (33.3 percent) from the field overall and 3-of-15 (20 percent) from behind the 3-point line. Sawyer Butler led the Barons with seven points and three rebounds and Nathan Richards pitched in six points in the opening half.
Franciscan, which had a six-game winning streak snapped with a loss to Washington and Jefferson in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals prior to Saturday's game, got to within 37-36 on a layup by Zachary Pollaro with 16:42 to go, but it was then that NJCU made its run to pull away from the Barons. The Gothic Knights scored 13 of the next 15 points over a span of 5:18 to go from being up by one to leading 51-38 with 11:24 remaining.
The Barons chipped away at NJCU's lead, and got to within six points on three different occasions. The final time came after a basket by Richards made it 62-56 with 29 seconds to go, but NJCU made a basket and hit a pair of free throws in the final moments to salt away the win and advance.
NJCU hit 22 of its 47 shots (46.8 percent), including 2-for-7 (28.6 percent) from 3-point range. The Gothic Knights also made 20-of-26 (76.9 percent) from the free-throw line, compared to 10-of-15 (66.7 percent) for Franciscan. Crawford led NJCU with a game-high 26 points and nine rebounds, and Rogers-Robinson finished with 17 points, three assists and two steals in the win.
Franciscan finished the game 20-for-70 (28.6) from the field, making 6-of-36 (16.7 percent) from 3-point range. Richards led the Barons with 13 points, followed by Pollaro (12 points, 4 rebounds) and Butler (10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals).