GLASSBORO, NJ - The Rowan men's basketball team saw its rally fall short in a 94-91 loss to New Jersey City in NJAC action today at Esby Gym. Jerry Price led six Profs in double figures with 21 points as Rowan evens its record to 3-3 (1-2 NJAC).
 
NJCU's Tarique Holmes connected on three-pointer with :57 to play to break an 88-88 tie and give the visitors the lead for good. A pair of free throws at :12 by Price pulled Rowan within 93-91, before Jeff Haddock, Jr., made one foul shot to provide the final margin. The Profs had one last chance but Price's long three-point attempt was off the mark as the buzzer sounded.
 
Austin Kearney had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Profs while Maliq Sanders had 13 points and nine rebounds. Diante Bah added 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting with Connor Dickerson adding 10 points. Matt Green tied his career-high with 10 points and added a personal-best five assists.
 
The Profs fought back from an early double-figure deficit, trailing by as much as 12 points in the first half.
 
Trailing 52-46 at halftime, Rowan outscored NJCU, 14-8, in the opening minutes of the second half to force a 60-60 tie at 13:57 on a dunk by Bah, with the feed from Green. With NJCU leading 69-68, the Gothic Knights used a 10-4 run to open up a 79-72 advantage.
 
Sanders scored six straight to pull Rowan within, 79-78, and the teams stayed close down the stretch with three more ties until Holmes' three-pointer.
 
Sam Toney topped NJCU (4-3; 2-1) with 24 points with Denzel Banks adding 15. Holmes scored 12 points and Kayton Darley had 10 points for the Gothic Knights.
 
NJCU jumped out quickly at the start of the game, going up 10-2 with eight points by Toney, and eventually went up 21-10 five minutes in. NJCU's biggest lead of the half was 12, 45-33, with 6:10 to play, but Rowan went on a 7-0 run with four from Dickerson to cut the deficit to 45-40.
 
Both teams committed 21 turnovers in the game while the Profs hit just 5-of-24 from three-point range. NJCU was 10-for-25 from behind the arc.
 
"They fought, they stayed together and kept competing which was good. They embraced that. But we just didn't get over the hump. We turned the ball over 21 times, which is hard for me to embrace, and offensive rebounds – those two things were it for us," said Rowan head coach Joe Crispin.  
 
The Profs return to action on Wednesday, December 11, when they host Stockton at Esby Gym at 7 p.m.