Box Score

UNION, NJ – Guard Ebony Jackson scored 25 points to lead Kean University over visiting Rowan University, 79-66 in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) contest on Thursday.

Jackson (so. Newark, NJ/Malcolm X. Shabazz) also grabbed nine rebounds and dished four assists. Guard Melissa Beyruti (so. Union, City, NJ/Union Hill) was in double digits with 13 points. Forwards Ebony Allen (sr. Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson) and Chi Clark (sr. Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) each recorded a game-high 10 boards.

Kean is 21-3 overall and 10-2 in the NJAC. The Cougars are the top seed in the South Division of the conference. Rowan is 9-15 on the season with a 2-10 conference mark. The Profs were led by forward Jessica Nimbley (fr. Middletown, NJ/St. John Vianney) with a career mark of 18 points. Guard Jillian Kane (fr. Ridgefield Park, NJ/Ridgefield Park) contributed with nine points while guard Kristina Wallace (jr. Logan Twp., NJ/Clearview Reg.) and forward Ashley Cieplicki (so. Haworth, NJ/Dumont) added eight points apiece. Forward Lauren Byrne (sr. Paulsboro, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) totaled six rebounds.

Kean started the game with a 13-5 run in the first 5:36. Forward Kimberly Smith (jr. Burlington, NJ/Burlington) made a basket at 13:06 that gave the Cougars’ an 11 point advantage (19-8). The Profs pulled within seven points (20-13) after Nimbley’s jumper with 11:28 left. Kean had a run of 12 straight points to lead 32-13 at 8:33. Smith totaled six points in the surge. At 3:13, Nimbley’s basket cut the deficit to 10 points (36-26). Cieplicki hit two foul shots with 2:10 remaining and the Profs trailed 38-30. Kean outscored Rowan 7-4 to end the half with an 11 point lead (45-34). Jackson led all scorers with 13 points in the period.

In the final stanza, Beyruti nailed a three that made the score 50-38 at 18:24. The Profs answered with a 10-1 run over five minutes to pull within three points (51-48). Nimbley compiled six points while Wallace had four. The Cougars went back up by 10 (62-52) after an 11-4 run that ended with two free throws by Jackson. Clark’s jumper put Kean up 73-60 with 3:21 left. The Profs had a layup by guard Brynn DeGroff (so. Wildwood Crest, NJ/Wildwood) that cut the lead to eight points (74-66) at 1:58. The Cougars ended the game with two free throws by Beyruti (1:39) and a three-pointer by guard Alysha Taylor (fr. Galloway, NJ/Absegami).

Rowan will host Richard Stockton College on Saturday, February 17 at 1 p.m. in the final game of the regular season.