J.J. is Dyn-o-mite!

With three minutes left to play and down by four to first-place Niagara in the regular-season finale at Alumni Gym, Rider was in trouble. The Broncs could earn a share of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference season title with a victory over the Purple Eagles, but things were not looking good.

But then Rider senior guard Jerry Johnson, who had eight points at the half and at this time was still 15 points shy of 2,000 for his career, hit a jumper to make it a two-point game with 2:45 left in the second half. Then, he buried a three-pointer to give the Broncs an 89-88 lead with 2:07 left.

After Niagara's Lorenzo Miles answered with a 3 of his own, Johnson came down the floor and drilled another three-pointer from near downtown Princeton to put Rider back in front by a 92-91 margin with 1:44 remaining. When Rider fell behind by one, Johnson came to the rescue once more by draining yet another three-ball to put the hosts up 95-93.

But the Purple Eagles tied the game and sent it into overtime, where Niagara took a 97-95 advantage on David Brooks' layup 39 seconds into the extra frame.

It turned out to be the last lead for the Purple Eagles.

A basket by Edwin Muniz tied the game for Rider, while a pair of free throws by Paul Johnson put the Broncs up for good at 99-97 with 3:29 left to play.

A jumper by Jerry Johnson extended the lead to four, setting the stage for a dramatic ending to a great college basketball game -- at any level.

Needing two points for the career 2,000 mark, Johnson made one more three-pointer to give Rider a seven-point lead at 106-99 with 1:52 remaining in overtime. Although Niagara again made it a four-point game about 20 seconds later, Robert "Beattie" Taylor sank a pair of free throws to put Rider up by six and the Purple Eagles would get no closer the rest of the way.

Johnson added a free throw with 24 seconds left for his final point at The Broncs' Zoo. It gave him 2,002 points for his career, making him just the second Rider player to surpass the 2,000 mark (Darrick Suber, 2,219) and only the 10th player in New Jersey Division I basketball history to reach that milestone.

His effort not only sparked Rider to a 113-106 Senior Day victory, but it lifted the Broncs to a share of the regular season conference title with Niagara. Johnson's performance in the final 7:45 of the contest made what was already a memorable game -- the 113 points were the most ever scored by Rider in Alumni Gym history -- into an event that will be talked about by Broncs fans for years to come.

As another famous J.J. would say, "He was dyn-o-mite!"