EWING, NJ – Behind senior forward David Cherry's 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Rutgers-Newark rallied past The College of New Jersey, 77-66, in Packard Hall to advance to the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Tournament semifinals for the fourth time in five seasons.
NCAA Stats & Play-by-Play
The Scarlet Raiders (15-11) take on North Division top-seed Montclair State at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the MSU Rec Center. Tickets are limited in the 400-seat facility, and Rutgers-Newark has been allotted 100 vouchers which will reserve seats for Raider fans until 10 minutes before tip-off. Persons wishing to acquire vouchers should contact Rutgers-Newark Director of Athletics Mark Griffin at markg@newark.rutgers.edu. The ticket window on game day should be open by 6 p.m.
Junior guard James Johnson knocked down three of five shots from beyond the arc on his way to a team-high 17 points while junior point guard Tim Smith drained three of four 3-point attempts to pile up 15 points. Junior power forward Deshawn Singleton worked inside for 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Reserve freshman guard Greg Moore chipped in eight points, hitting a pair of treys, while junior forward Phil Barnes notched seven points, five rebounds and two assists for the Raiders.
Rutgers-Newark, which missed the six-team NJAC tournament field for the first time in four years last February, kept alive its string of opening round wins in the championship. The Raiders downed Montclair State in 2005, TCNJ in 2006 and Richard Stockton in 2007 in opening round contests under eighth-year head coach Joe Loughran.
Senior guard Eric Blackmon-Hayes dished off a game-high seven assists and 10 assists for the Lions while junior Aaron Syvertson, who launched 14 3-point jumpers, tallied 17 points and snared seven rebounds. Steven Siracusa chipped in 15 points, on seven of 10 shooting, and added six rebounds for TCNJ (10-15).
In the see-saw battle, Cherry and Johnson had nine points apiece as Rutgers-Newark staged a 30-14 closing run to seize the victory. TCNJ's Adam Gonzalez capped a 14-4 run with a pair of free throws with 9:11 left to give the Lions a 52-47 lead before the Raiders' decisive finish. A conventional 3-point play by Singleton with 3:03 left provided R-N with some much needed separation at 67-61.
Singleton and Smith had eight points apiece as Rutgers-Newark rallied for a 34-28 halftime advantage. A 3-point jumper by Blackmon-Hayes gave the Lions a 25-16 lead with just 6:05 left in the opening period, but Johnson and Smith each had a pair of treys as the Raiders closed out the period with an 18-3 run.
