NEWARK, NJ – Junior forward Deshawn Singleton (Passaic, NJ/Passaic HS) bulled inside for 13 of his game-high 26 points and added a game-high 10 rebounds to help Rutgers-Newark hold off The College of New Jersey, 79-74, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game in The Golden Dome.
NCAA Box Score & Play-by-Play
The Scarlet Raiders (11-6, NJAC 4-1) bounced back from their first conference loss of the season at Montclair State – in which they made just nine of 19 charity tosses – by making 14 of 17 free throws. The Lions (6-8, NJAC 2-3) drained 10 of 11 from the line.
Singleton added three assists and two blocked shots to his totals while junior guard Michael DeShields (Magnolia, NJ/Sterling) hit four of five shots from the floor for 10 points. Senior forward David Cherry (Linden, NJ/Roselle Catholic) finished with 14 points, four rebounds and two assists while junior point guard Tim Smith (Mullica Hill, NJ/Camden Catholic) notched nine points, six rebounds and a game-high five assists. Junior forward Phil Barnes (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) came off the bench to make all four of his field goal attempts and finish with eight points and seven rebounds.
Junior guard Jay Frank poured in 17 of his team-high 21 points in the second half and added three assists, three steals and three rebounds for the Lions. Freshman guard Albert Matlock came off the bench to hit five of six shots from the floor and finish with 11 points while senior guard Jeff Molinelli contributed 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals for TCNJ.
In a game that featured 10 lead changes, the Raiders went to the lockerroom at halftime up 33-30 on the strength of a 3-point jumper by freshman guard Greg Moore (Jersey City, NJ/Bayonne).
A layup by DeShields with 17:38 left boosted the R-N lead to 41-32, but the Lions refused to fold.
TCNJ reeled off a 10-0 run with Molinelli starting things with a 3-point jumper before Frank took over. Frank knocked down a trey before making back-to-back steals and layups to give the Lions their first lead of the half at 42-41 with 16:21 remaining.
The Lions seized the lead four more times in the period with Eric Hayes dropping in two free throws with 2:58 left to make it 68-67 in favor of TCNJ. But, that would be the last hurrah for the visitors.
Singleton powered inside for an offensive rebound and a bucket to give the Raiders the lead for good at 69-68 before Cherry converted a conventional 3-point play to make it 72-68 with 1:55 left. The Lions twice cut the lead to two, but the Raiders drained seven of eight free throws in the closing 46 seconds to secure the victory.
Rutgers-Newark visits William Paterson on Wednesday for an NJAC twinbill. The women tip off at 6 p.m. with the men following at 8 o'clock.
