New Jersey City University senior forward Samar Battle has been named New Jersey Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year for the 2003-04 season.

Battle and the Gothic Knights finished the 2003-04 regular season mark with a 19-6 overall and a 10-3 mark in conference play. As champions of the NJAC Blue Division, NJCU received a first-round bye and will open play in the NJAC Tournament on February 26 when they host William Paterson in a semifinal contest at 7:00 PM.

A two-time NJAC Player of the Week selection, Battle currently ranks second in the NJAC in scoring (20.7 per game), second in blocks (1.64 per game) and fourth in rebounding (8.1 per game). In addition, he ranks among the Top 15 in the NJAC in field goal percentage, steals, three-point field goal percentage and three-point field goals made per game.

Rutgers University-Newark freshman forward Jermont Horton was named NJAC Rookie of the Year after helping the Scarlet Raiders improve their overall win total by four games from last season. An eight-time NJAC Rookie of the Week selection, Horton earned the honor for the final five weeks of the regular season. He currently ranks fourth in the conference in scoring (17.3 per game) and fifth in the league in rebounding (8.0 per game).

Ramapo College junior guard Amin Wright was named NJAC Defensive Player of the Year, marking the fourth consecutive year that a Roadrunner garnered the league’s defensive honor. Wright currently ranks fifth in the NJAC in steals (2.50 per game) and 20^th in rebounding (5.2 per game) from his guard position.

New Jersey City University head coach Charles Brown was named NJAC Coach of the Year. After finishing fifth in the NJAC in 2002-03, Brown guided the 2003-04 Gothic Knights to a 19-6 regular season record, a first-place finish in the conference’s Blue Division, and the top-seed in the 2003-04 NJAC Championship Tournament.  In 22 seasons at the helm of the NJCU program, Brown has compiled a career coaching record of 423-188.