NEWARK, NJ – Rutgers-Newark guards Pedro Burgos and Al'Don Muhammad combined for 44 points and 14 assists in an 89-79 win over Hunter College in The Golden Dome.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

The Scarlet Raiders (8-0) led by as many as 20 points in the second half before the Hawks (4-4) whittled the margin to five at 83-78 with 1:22 left on a pair of free throws by junior forward Anthony Uter.

But, Burgos and Muhammad answered with a pair of free throws each to push the lead to 87-78 with 33 ticks left, giving the Raiders the necessary breathing room.

Burgos poured in a game-high 23 points, hitting three of five 3-point attempts, and dished off five assists while Muhammad tallied 21 points, a game-high nine assists and six assists while coming up with a career-high four blocked shots.

Freshman swingman Christian Garcia came off the bench to tally a dozen of his 18 points in the opening period to help stake Rutgers-Newark to a 49-38 edge. He hit six of eight shots in the period to help the Raiders make a blazing 64.5% (20-31) of their field goal attempts.

Junior forward Jeremiah Rivers battled for nine point, seven rebounds and three steals while junior forward Ralph Jones notched six points and five rebounds before fouling out after just 19 minutes.

Senior swingman Maxwell Dubois paced Hunter with 19 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two assists while Uter finished with 10 points. Senior center Panagiotis Koutsoloukas battled inside for 11 points and six rebounds while guards Izzy Hoffman and Eric Klingsberg each had eight points and three assists.

Rutgers-Newark hosts York (NY) College in a non-conference doubleheader on Friday in The Golden Dome. The women tip off at 6 p.m. with the men to follow at 8 o'clock.