Box Score

JERSEY CITY, NJ – Guards Pedro Burgos, Al'Don Muhammad and Greg Moore combined for 41 points as Rutgers-Newark stunned New Jersey City, 55-51, in the John J. Moore Athletic Center to seize a New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Tournament berth.

Burgos had 17 points, knocking down three of five 3-point jumpers while Muhammad added 13 points and four assists as the Scarlet Raiders turned away a late rally by the Gothic Knights who were eliminated from the 6-team tournament field.  NJCU (17-7, NJAC 7-6) was the defending NJAC champion.

Moore, a Jersey City native, gunned in 11 points and added three assists.

The win gave the Raiders a sweep of the regular-season series against the Gothic Knights.  It was a crucial sweep as the Raiders (14-11, NJAC 7-6) ended up in a four-way tie for second place in the NJAC's rugged North Division following a Montclair State (17-8, NJAC 7-6) of Ramapo (17-8, NJAC 7-6) tonight.  Ramapo gained the North's second seed based on better record in competition against the other three teams.  Against MSU and NJCU, the Raiders went 3-1 to gain the final slot in the North.

2012 NJAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament Bracket

Burgos made six of six free throws and Muhammad, 10 of 13 as the Raiders made 22 of 30 free throws to spell the difference.  NJCU made six of just 10 charity tosses while suffering its worst shooting performance of the year.  The Gothic Knights made just 30.9% (21-68) of their field goal tries with only three of 22 3-point shots falling.

Both teams were abysmal from the field in the opening half when the Raiders made 12 of 14 free throws to gain a tenuous 23-21 lead.  Burgos and Muhammad was each six for six from the line as Rutgers-Newark made just five of 21 field goals tries (23.8%) including one of five from beyond the arc.  But NJCU connected on just 26.7% (8-30) of their shots while missing 10 of 11 3-point tries.

With Muhammad and Moore starting the second half with a pair of treys the Raiders quickly built a 33-23 lead with 15:52 left on a follow shot by junior forward Mark Moorman.

But the Gothic Knights reeled the Raiders back, catching them at 43-43 on a layup by Keith Williams with 7:22 left. 

There were three more ties and four lead changes down the stretch before freshman swingman Christian Garcia, who had missed five of six free throws in the contest, dropped in a pair of charity tosses to give Rutgers-Newark the lead for good at 53-51 with 53 seconds left.

Muhammad came up with back-to-back blocked shots in the final 30 seconds before being fouled with 16 ticks left.  His free throws iced the game as NJCU missed two more 3-points in the closing seconds before senior forward Jeremiah Rivers snared the final rebound of the night for the Raiders.

Rivers worked for a team-high eight rebounds and five points against the much taller NJCU frontline while Garcia chipped in five points and six rebounds.  Moorman finished with the one field goal, five rebounds and two blocked shots.

Junior guard Kaihrique Irick was the only Gothic Knight in double figures with 15 points plus eight rebounds and three assists.  Junior forward Walik Albright had a game-high 10 rebounds and nine points, helping NJCU control the boards, 43-37.

The Raiders earned their sixth berth in the NJAC playoffs in last eight seasons under 11th-year head coach Joe Loughran.  Rutgers-Newark has never won an NJAC crown.


Rutgers-Newark travels to Union, NJ, to face Kean in Harwood Arena in the tournament's opening round on Saturday at 1 p.m.