NEWARK, NJ – Junior forward Kenny Widgeon (Plainfield, NJ/The Hotchkiss School) had a career-high 18 points and a team-high seven rebounds for Rutgers-Newark, but sophomore guard Tammer Farid netted 10 of his game-high 19 points in the second half as Baruch held off Rutgers-Newark for a 77-72 non-conference win in The Golden Dome.
NCAA Box Score & Play-by-Play
Farid made four of four free throws in the final 2.3 seconds to stave off the Scarlet Raiders (6-2) after the home team had trimmed the lead to 73-72 as the Bearcats (6-2) literally won the game at the free throw line. Baruch, with Farid making eight of nine from the charity stripe, drained 21 of 27 free throws to Rutgers-Newark's 16 of 27.
In a game that saw 13 ties and nine lead changes, it was nip and tuck all the way. Each team posted 34 rebounds and scored 56 points from the floor, and each squad committed 21 turnovers.
Senior forward David Cherry (Linden, NJ/Roselle Catholic) added 16 points, six rebounds, five assists, two blocked shots and two steals while freshman reserve point guard Greg Moore (Jersey City, NJ/Bayonne) added 13 points and a team-high three steals.
For Baruch, senior center Steve Bader had 10 points and eight rebounds before fouling out while sophomore guard Lionel Hilaire netted 10 points, five assists and three steals. Freshman guard Chris Beauchamp chipped in 10 points for the Bearcats who also got eight points and four assists from senior guard Mike Dietz to push their winning streak to four.
Cherry netted eight points, including the rally capping layup with 13:45 left in the period, as Rutgers-Newark jumped out to a 17-2 lead. But, the Bearcats roared back with a 15-1 run to knot things at 20-20 with 6:38 on the clock. Dietz, who scored five points in the run, knocked down a 3-point jumper to cap the rally. Baruch made eight of eight from the free throw line to fuel the spurt.
Farid gave the Bearcats their first lead of the opening half with a 3-point jumper to make it 25-22 with with 5:07 remaining. A Hilaire jumper gave Baruch its biggest lead at 27-22 with 4:37 left, but the Raider battled back. There were four more ties in the final minutes of the period with the Raiders scratching out a 36-35 lead at intermission.
Rutgers-Newark travels to John Jay on Wednesday for a women's and men's doubleheader. The women tip off at 5 p.m. with the men to follow at 7 o'clock.
