NEWARK, NJ – Sophomore center Hussein Abdelmaksoud had career highs of 16 rebounds, 14 points and four steals to lead Rutgers-Newark to a crucial 56-48 win over William Paterson in The Golden Dome.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Abdelmaksoud had 10 points, seven rebounds, all four of his steals and an assist in the second half when the Scarlet Raiders (16-6, NJAC 6-5) rallied from a 5-point deficit against the Pioneers (12-10, NJAC 4-6).

Junior guard Pedro Burgos hit two treys to ignite a 20-7 outburst by the Raiders to start the game, but WPU got three treys from reserve sophomore guard Rick DeStefano to whittled the halftime deficit to just seven at 31-24. DeStefano finished with 11 points.

Burgos netted all 15 of his points in the opening period, but he was the sole focus of the Pioneer defense in the second half. Abdelmaksoud stepped into the void by hitting all four of his second half shots.

Senior guard Gabriel Paul, who scored a game-high 16 points to give him exactly 1,000 for his career, hit a follow shot to give WPU a 40-35 lead with 12:08 left. Paul had six points as the Pioneers used smothering defense to put together a 14-2 run to open the second half. Rutgers-Newark managed only a layup by junior guard Al'Don Muhammad during the cold spell.

But Rutgers-Newark responded with a 13-0 run sparked by Abdelmaksoud with seven points and two steals to take a 48-40 lead with 4:42 left. The Pioneers got no closer than five points after that.

Muhammad finished with 10 points, a game-high seven assists and two steals while junior forward Jeremiah Rivers chipped in eight points before fouling out in the second half. Junior guard Greg Moore came off the bench to score seven points, grab three rebounds and make two steals. His steal and layup with 9:41 left drew the Raiders even at 40-40 during the decisive run.

Paul also hauled down a game-high nine rebounds to help the Pioneers win the battle on the glass, 37-31. Junior guard Joey Castro chipped in seven points, four rebounds and two assists while senior guard Nick Allen added six points, five rebounds and three assists. Senior forward Shaun Canty blocked four shots while posting four rebounds and three points.

The win kept the Raiders in the thick of the race for an NJAC Championship Tournament berth. Rutgers-Newark is chasing New Jersey City (12-8, NJAC 5-4) for the third and final slot in the NJAC's North Division. The teams split their regular-season set.

Rutgers-Newark visits division-leading Ramapo (17-4, NJAC 8-1) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. before hosting Montclair State (17-5, NJAC 7-3) in the regular-season finale on Saturday.