Box Score
WAYNE, NJ – Rutgers-Newark scored the final six points in the last 69 seconds to upend William Paterson, 71-66, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference battle in the WPU Rec Center.
The Scarlet Raiders (5-2, NJAC 3-1) rallied from eight points down in the final 11 minutes to edge the Pioneers (4-3, NJAC 2-2) and extend their winning streak to three games while serving WPU its second straight loss in the league.
Down 66-65 following a layup by Pioneer senior forward Lance Brown, the Raiders got a tip in from sophomore swingman
Christian Garcia to take the lead for good with 1:09 remaining before sophomore guard
John Snow pushed the Raider lead to 69-66 with a layup with just 16 ticks left. Senior point guard
Al'Don Muhammad iced the decision with a pair of free throws with eight seconds on the clock.
Senior center
Hussein Abdelmaksoud, who finished with a game-high 16 rebounds, netted seven of his 12 points during the closing nine and a half minutes when the Raiders out-scored WPU, 26-13. A layup by Brown had posted the Pioneers to a 53-45 lead with 10:54 left. Snow and Muhammad netted six points apiece in the final 9:25.
Snow, a first-year R-N transfer from Seton Hall, poured in a career-high 19 points while pulling down six rebounds and making three steals. He drained three of five 3-point shots and six of six free throws to help the Raiders connect on 28-36 free throws.
Muhammad finished with 17 points plus game highs of eight assists and four steals while Garcia notched 18 points and six rebounds.
Freshman forward Terik Bridgeman led the Pioneers with 16 points and seven rebounds while sophomore guard Manny Hernandez added 13 points, three assists and two steals. Brown finished with 11 points.
Rutgers-Newark battled to a 33-25 halftime edge, but WPU reeled in the Raiders and took an 8-point lead at 49-41 on a long-range jumper by Rick DeStefano with 12:05 left.
The Raiders won the game at the free throw line despite a 13-for-15 night by the Pioneers while Abdelmaksoud's night helped Rutgers-Newark win the rebounding battle, 41-27. The Raiders overcame 26 turnovers to post the victory.
Rutgers-Newark hosts Richard Stockton in an NJAC doubleheader in The Golden Dome on Wednesday night. The women tip off at 6 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 8. The unbeaten Osprey men (6-0, NJAC 4-0) are tied for the league lead with Ramapo (5-0, NJAC 4-0) while the Raiders are in a third-place tie with Rowan (6-1, NJAC 3-1).
