Box Score
NEWARK, NJ – Rutgers-Newark limited New Jersey City to just 11 second-half points to rally for a 51-39 New Jersey Athletic Conference win in The Golden Dome.
In a game which featured ferocious defense, the Scarlet Raiders (3-2, NJAC 1-1) got strong inside play from senior center
Hussein Abdelmaksoud with 11 points, 11 rebounds and three steals, and sophomore swingman
Christian Garcia with a game-high 13 points and eight rebounds to make the difference.
After trailing 28-22 at the half, the Raiders won the game at the free throw line by making 13 of 16 tries while the Gothic Knights (1-3, NJAC 0-2) converted just three of seven charity tosses.
Senior forward
Fateen Belfield, who sat out the last three games with a foot injury, made three of four shots from the floor and blocked a game-high four shots in the second half as the Raiders made eight of 14 field goal tries in the period.
Sophomore forward Drew Marley tallied six of his team-high 10 points and freshman guard Khalid Muhammad netted six of his nine in the opening period as NJCU scrapped out a 28-22 lead. Marley hit back-to-back jumpers ahead of a layup by Muhammad to break a tie and stake the Gothic Knights to a 26-20 lead with 3:54 left in the half. Muhammad finished with seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.
The Raiders limited the visitors to two points during the first five and a half minutes of the second half to take a 31-30 lead on a layup by senior guard
Al'Don Muhammad just 5:15 into the period. There were four lead changes and a tie over the next two minutes.
Neither team scored a field goal in eight minutes and 21 seconds in a stint that began following a layup by
Al'Don Muhammad which gave the Raiders the lead for good at 35-34 with 12:47 left. Sophomore guard
John Snow and freshman forward
Josh Treadwell pushed the Raider lead to 39-34 with 9:17 left by making four free throws in as many tries.
Khalid Muhammad made the second of two free throws with 5:43 left to whittle NJCU's deficit to 39-36, but sophomore guard
Doze Ikwuegbu and Abdelmaksoud each dropped in a pair of free throws to push the Raider advantage to 43-36 with 4:41 remaining.
NJCU never got closer than five points after that before Rutgers-Newark pulled away to win by the largest margin for either team in the contest.
Al'Don Muhammad came off the bench to tally six points and a team-high three assists for the Raiders.
Khalid Muhammad led the Gothic Knights with seven rebounds while adding three steals and a pair of assists.
The Raiders were 0-for-3 from 3-point range in the game and survived 24 turnovers to snap a two-game losing streak.
It marked the fewest points given up by a Scarlet Raider team since a 57-39 over New Jersey City in The Golden Dome Arena on February 6, 2010.
Rutgers-Newark travels to Montclair State on Saturday for an NJAC doubleheader. The men tip off at 1 p.m. with the women's game to follow at 3.
