Box Score

NEWARK, NJ – Junior forward Hussein Abdelmaksoud powered inside for 27 points and 15 rebounds to lead Rutgers-Newark to a 62-59 New Jersey Athletic Conference win over Rowan in The Golden Dome.

Junior point guard Al'Don Muhammad had all eight of his points in the second half as the Scarlet Raiders (10-6, NJAC 3-2) rallied from six point deficit to stop the Profs (8-8, NJAC 2-3).  Muhammad added six rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots while freshman swingman Christian Garcia matched the guard with eight points and six rebounds.

Sophomore guard Rich McNamara dropped in a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left to trim the Rowan deficit to 60-59.  McNamara netted 13 of his team-high 16 points in the second half as there were two ties and five lead changes in the 14 minutes.

Muhammad hit a pair of free throws with 18.2 ticks left, giving the visitors a chance to tie the score.  But, Rowan missed a pair of 3-point attempts in the final 10 seconds.

Junior forward Kendall White netted a dozen of his 13 points in the opening half, including jumper with 1:37 left which staked Rowan to a 31-21 lead.  But layups by freshman guard Doze Ikwuegbu, Garcia and Abdelmaksoud trimmed the Raiders' halftime deficit to 31-27.

Sophomore guard Jason Rosenberg dished out a game-high seven assists for Rowan while chipping in six points, three rebounds and two steals while sophomore guard Phil Jackson chipped in a game-high five steals, seven points, three rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.

The Profs smothered high-scoring senior guard Pedro Burgos, allowing him just seven points.  Ikwuegbu tallied seven points, two assists and a steal while senior swingman Jeremiah Rivers added five rebounds and three assists to offset a season-low two points.

The Raiders desperately needed the victory to stay in the hunt for one of three NJAC North Division berths for the 6-team conference championship tournament.  Rutgers-Newark, which is 0-2 in the division, is now 3-0 against South Division competition.

Rutgers-Newark is at Ramapo College on Wednesday for an NJAC twinbill.  The women tip off at 5:30 p.m. with the men to follow at 7:30 in the Bradley Center.