EWING, NJ – Rutgers-Newark senior guard James Johnson had a dozen points and six rebounds, but the College of New Jersey held the lead for the final 38 minutes in a 71-63 New Jersey Athletic game in Packard Hall.

TCNJ 71, Rutgers-Newark 63

The Scarlet Raiders (11-5, NJAC 3-3) suffered their second NJAC loss in a row to fall back into the pack in the league race while the Lions (10-5, NJAC 3-2) buoyed their chances for a post-season berth.

Senior forward Ryan Gillens came off the bench for 11 points and four rebounds while senior forward Phil Barnes netted all nine of his points in the opening half. Freshman point guard Al-Don Muhammad came off the bench for eight points, six rebounds and a game-high five assists while junior guard Micheal DeShields registered eight points and three rebounds. Senior guard Tim Smith collected seven points and five rebounds.

For the second straight time, the Raiders shot under 40% from the floor and the opposing defensive shackled high-scoring Deshawn Singleton while holding long-range shooting sophomore guard Greg Moore scoreless. Singleton hauled down a team-high eight rebounds, but he made just one of six shots from the floor for two points while playing with foul trouble. Moore was limited to just four shots.

Down by as many as 11 points in the second half, the Raiders whittled the deficit to 59-55 on a 3-point jumper by Smith with 6:59 remaining. But, TCNJ answered with buckets by William Jett and Steve Siracusa to push the lead back to eight points with 4:45 left. The Raiders got no closer than six the rest of the way.

TCNJ led by as many as 17 points in the opening half before taking a 41-31 lead to the locker room.

Aaron Syvertsen knocked down four of eight shots from beyond the arc on his way to a game-high 20 points while Siracusa had 10 points and 10 rebounds for TCNJ. Senior guard Jay Frank made seven of eight free throws on his way to 16 points and three steals while Jett tallied 14 points and seven rebounds.

The Raiders dominated the glass, forging a 47-30 advantage, but 20 turnovers coupled with three-for-15 shooting from 3-point range proved to be the key factors.

Rutgers-Newark visits Medgar Evers on Monday night for a non-conference clash before hosting SUNY Cobleskill at 7 p.m. in The Golden Dome on Wednesday. The Raiders return to NJAC action on Saturday at Kean.