JERSEY CITY, NJ – Sophomore point guard Al'Don Muhammad scored the final four points in the final minute of the third overtime period to cap a 31-point outburst and lift unbeaten Rutgers-Newark to a 118-116 win over New Jersey City.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Muhammad also added a game-high nine assists, three steals and five rebounds to his career-high point output as the Scarlet Raiders (5-0, NJAC 1-0) avoided an upset bid by the Gothic Knights (1-3, NJAC 0-1) in the New Jersey Athletic Conference opener for each squad.

A jumper by Muhammad knotted the score at 116-116 with 53 seconds left before he iced the decision with a pair of free throws with nine ticks remaining.

In an epic 3-hour and 20-minute battle, the Raiders needed a miracle finish to the first overtime to keep things going. Down 85-76 with 1:44 left, Muhammad and junior guard Greg Moore led a furious rally which pulled the Raiders even at 98-98. Muhammad started the run with a 3-point jumper and totaled 11 points in the spurt on three treys and a layup. Moore made all three free throws after getting fouled behind the arc, and then added two 3-pointers, including the game-tying trey with just 15 seconds left. After NJCU junior guard Keith Williams put the Gothic Knights up by one by making the second of two free throws with 14 ticks left, Raider junior guard Chris Diaz made the first of two free throws with eight second left to send the game into a second extra period.

In a battle of attrition, five Raiders fouled out with Muhammad, who played 54 of the 55 possible minutes, managing to survive with four personals. Moore, who finished with a career-high 26 points, was the only other Rutgers-Newark starter not to collect five fouls.

Junior guard Pedro Burgos poured in 26 points, hitting six of 11 shots from downtown, and grabbed seven rebounds before fouling out while junior forward Jeremiah Rivers netted a dozen points and grabbed four rebounds before also getting whistled for the maximum.

Freshman reserve swingman Christian Garcia came off the bench to snare a team-high 14 rebounds and score eight points.

Williams, who made 14 of 21 free throws, paced NJCU with 28 points, six assists and four steals while senior guard Da'Shon Barrino came off the bench for 25 points, six assists and five steals. Junior center Dashawn Eagle worked inside for 14 points, a game-high 16 rebounds and five blocked shots as the Gothic Knight bench out-scored their counterparts, 64-16.

The Raiders teetered near the edge all night, but always found a way to stay in the fray.

Muhammad made a pair of free throws with 11 seconds left in regulation to knot the game at 73-73. A 3-point shot by Barrio missed with one second left to send the game into the first overtime.

After the frantic finish to the first overtime period, Diaz sank a jumper with two seconds left in the second extra period to make it 109-109 and force the final frame.

The game statistics reflect how close things were. The Gothic Knights made one more field goal than the Raiders (35-34), while Rutgers-Newark sank one more free throw (36-35). Rutgers-Newark knocked down 14 of 29 3-point shots while NJCU netted 11 of 29. NJCU got one more rebound than the Raiders (44-43). Rutgers-Newark survived a season-high 31 turnovers by shooting a solid 51.5% from the floor.

The teams combined to take 102 free throws which is just three attempts shy of the NCAA Division III record of 105 (Earlham vs. Oberlin, December 5, 1992).

It was the second overtime win of the season for the Raiders who needed an extra period to stop Medgar Evers, 81-72, in their season opener. It was the first triple-overtime game in the 10-year tenure of Raider head coach Joe Loughran – and the highest scoring game by any of his squads.  The last multi-overtime game for the Raiders was a double-overtime loss to New Jersey City in The Golden Dome (January 29, 2008).

Although records are incomplete for men's basketball, the 118 points are believed to be the most ever scored by a Scarlet Raider team.  Rutgers-Newark rolled to a 116-69 win over Purchase College in the final game of the 1982-83 season.  It is also beleived to be the first triple-overtime affair in school history.

Rutgers-Newark hosts The College of New Jersey Saturday in an NJAC doubleheader in The Golden Dome. The women tip off at 6 p.m. with the men to follow at 8 o'clock.