Box Score

NEWARK, NJ – Guards Pedro Burgos and Al'Don Muhammad combined for 32 of their 45 points in the second half as Rutgers-Newark battled past New Jersey City, 73-69, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game in The Golden Dome Arena.

The Gothic Knights (14-5, NJAC 4-4) led 35-23 at the half as junior forward Walk Albright scored 10 of his team-high 20 points, but the Scarlet Raiders (12-7, NJAC 5-3) shot 50% (10-20) from the floor and made 26 of 32 free throws in the second period to pile up 50 points against the taller visitors.

Coupled with Ramapo's 64-63 win over Montclair State, Rutgers-Newark climbed into a three-way tied for second in the NJAC's rugged Northern Division.  NJCU slipped into fifth place – one game out.  For the Raiders, it was their first divisional victory of the season.

Burgos netted three of his five 3-point jumpers and made 10 of 12 free throws in the second half to finish with a game-high 28 points.  Muhammad went eight for eight from the charity stripe to register 13 of his 17 points in the final 20 minutes.  The junior point guard also added a game-high five assists, three steals and three rebounds.

Albright barely missed a double-double by hauling down a nine rebounds to go along with three blocked shots.  He also made 11 of 14 free throws as NJCU went 18 for 25 from the free throw line in a physical game which featured 52 personal fouls.

The Gothic Knights led 23-10 after 3-point jumper by senior guard Keith Williams with 7:13 left in the opening half and the Rutgers-Newark never got closer than nine points for the rest of the period.

Burgos had three treys and 15 points as the Raiders out-scored NJCU 33-19 to open the second half.  Muhammad, who had nine points on six free throws and a 3-point jumper during the spree, capped the surge with a pair of free throws to give Rutgers-Newark its first lead of the game at 56-54 with 7:14 left.

The Gothic Knights never regained the lead, but they trimmed the deficit to one twice in the closing minutes.  Williams nailed a 3-point jumper with 1:15 left to make it 68-67 before freshman swingman Christian Garcia put the lead back to three with a pair of free throws with 51 ticks left.  Albright then hit a layup to make it 70-69 with 23 seconds remaining.

After Burgos made the second of two free throws with 15 seconds left, NJCU called time out with 13.3 seconds left to set up a final shot.  But Albright's pass into the lane was deflected, Muhammad came up with the ball and was fouled with 2.5 ticks.  He knocked down both free throws to put the game out of reach.

Garcia finished with a dozen points and six rebounds for the Raiders while junior center Hussein Abdelmaksoud battled foul trouble and a tall NJCU frontline for a game-high 11 rebounds and seven points.  Senior guard Greg Moore finished with eight points and five rebounds as Rutgers-Newark managed a 33-31 edge in rebounding.

Williams netted 15 points for the Gothic Knights and added a team-high four assists while junior forward David Jones came off the bench for seven points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.  Junior forward Kaihrique Irick added nine points and three rebounds.

Rutgers-Newark hosts Richard Stockton College in an NJAC doubleheader on Saturday in The Golden Dome.  The women tip off at 6 p.m. before the Raider men take on the South Division-leading Ospreys at 8.