MADISON, N.J. -- A furious second-half rally came up a bit short as Gwynedd Mercy fell, 82-76, to New Jersey City in the Rose City Classic held at Drew University Saturday night.

The Griffins (1-1) will battle Brooklyn College tomorrow in the consolation game starting at 2 p.m. The Gothic Knights take on the host Rangers at 4 p.m.

Rip Engel led GMercyU with 16 points with Courtney Cubbage and Rich Dunham each had 11 but Gwynedd couldn't overcome a rough stretch in the first half. NJCU ran off seven-straight points to turn a 12-8 score into an 11-point lead at the midway point of the stanza. The Griffins stayed within reach but a 9-0 run from the Gothic Knights to close out the half put GMercyU in a 45-27 deficit at the break.

After five points opened the second, NJCU (2-0) held their largest lead of the contest (50-27). Engel put the finishing touches on a three-point play to make it 52-34. A steal and layup from Matt Sommers later capped a 10-0 run to get it 54-44 with under 11 minutes remaining. Back-to-back three-pointers from Sommers and Manny Lopez shrunk the hole to 57-52 with 8:31 to go.

Sam Toney, who scored a game-high 21 points, bookended a stretch of five three-pointers, helped New Jersey City restore a double-digit lead. Later two free throws with 4:03 to play opened the score to 74-56, but the Griffins gave it one last push. Now down 80-67 with 1:03 on the clock, a Ty Jones layup and a trey from Matt Carter suddenly made it a six-point contest. The Gothic Knights would hit two free throws and Lopez hit a bucket at the buzzer to account for the final score.

Engel finished with a team-high four assists while Will Davis pulled down seven rebounds. The team shot over 50% in the second half after going under 40% in the first.