Courtesy of Mark Mentone NJIT Sports Information

Freshman Johnson Nets Game-Winner With Two Seconds Left In OT

NEWARK, N.J. - - Freshman forward Brett Johnson (Marlton, NJ/Roman Catholic) made the go-ahead basket with 2.0 seconds left in overtime to lift New Jersey Institute of Technology to a 64-63 victory over visiting Philadelphia University on Tuesday night at the Fleisher Athletic Center. Philadelphia is ranked No. 3 in the preseason national Division II poll and was selected preseason No. 1 by Street & Smith?s Basketball Magazine.

NJIT forced the extra session on a three-point field-goal from Clayton Barker (Passaic, NJ/Passaic) with just over eight seconds remaining in regulation. In overtime, neither team ever led by more than one point. On the game winning play, Barker threw a lead pass from the right elbow into the paint to Johnson, who used his left side to shield the defender and banked home a lay-up. Philadelphia called both of its remaining timeouts before settling for a desperation three-point attempt which missed high.

Playing in its home opener, NJIT (1-2) fell behind, 26-22, at halftime. Philadelphia (2-1) began the second half with a 17-6 run, and led by 15 with 13:11 remaining. With his team still trailing by 13 at 10:17, NJIT freshman Ian O'Boyle (Kildare, Ireland) scored 11 points during a 16-3 Highlander run, including a game-tying three-point field-goal at 1:47.

O'Boyle led NJIT with 16 points, all after intermission. Marc Milbourne Swan (Pleasantville, NJ/Holy Spirit) had 15 points, on 7 for 7 shooting, with nine rebounds. Brian Tomko (Hatboro, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) had a game-high 23 points and Graham Edwards (Pottsville, PA/Nativity BVM) added 13 rebounds for the Rams.