Box Score
GALLOWAY, NJ – Rutgers-Newark battled into three overtimes, but Richard Stockton clawed out an 87-78 win in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game in the RSC Sports Center.
The Scarlet Raiders (14-6, NJAC 8-5) came tantalizingly close to an historic regular-season sweep of the Ospreys (15-4, NJAC 10-3) who claimed sole possession of second place in the 10-team league with five games remaining. The top two teams earn a first round bye in the 6-team NJAC Championship Tournament.
The loss overshadowed a career-high 28-point explosion by sophomore swingman
Christian Garcia who also tallied eight rebounds and three assists. Senior guard
Al'Don Muhammad netted 21 points while adding three rebounds, two steals and two assists in the marathon while senior
Hussein Abdelmaksoud hauled down a game-high 13 rebounds. Sophomore guard
Doze Ikwuegbu totaled 11 points and three assists.
Sophomore guard Jesse Hunt drained three consecutive 3-point jumpers to give the Ospreys an 81-76 lead with 1:26 left in the third extra period as Stockton pushed the lead to eight points before the finish. Garcia scored all six of the Raiders' points in the final five minutes.
Muhammad had chances to win the game at the end of regulation with a baseline jumper from the right side and the end of the second overtime with a turnaround jumper from the right side of the foul line, but the ball bounced off the rim as the horn sounded each time.
Muhammad netted seven points during a 13-3 closing run which knotted the score at 61-61 at the end of regulation. His 3-point jumper with1:10 left produced the final points of the first 40 minutes. A jumper by Muhammad gave the Raiders a 72-70 lead in the first overtime before Stockton junior guard Rameel Johnson knotted the score with 1:19 left in the period to force a second extra session.
Rutgers-Newark clung to a 27-25 halftime edge on the strength of a string of treys by Ikwuegbu which boosted the Raiders' field goal accuracy to 48% (12-25) overall, but a dozen turnovers kept the Ospreys in the game. Ikwuegbu hit three 3-point jumpers to spark a 13-4 run which staked Rutgers-Newark to a 19-11 lead with 8:55 left in the period. But Stockton reeled the Raiders back in and tied the game at 23-23 on a layup by junior forward Nnamdi Usuwa with 1:48 remaining. Back-to-back jumpers by Azoroh and Garcia gave Rutgers-Newark a four-point lead before Johnson drove for a layup with 39 ticks left to make it a two-point game at intermission.
Rutgers-Newark got to the foul line just twice in the first half, missing both shots, while Stockton, which was whistled for just three personal fouls, made five of seven free throws to help keep things close.
Hunt paced the Ospreys with 18 points, hitting four of eight treys while Johnson finished with 15 points, five rebounds and game highs of five assists and four steals. Senior guard Darnell McCargo chipped in 14 points while sophomore forward Josh Blamon posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Rutgers-Newark worked for a 50-42 advantage in rebounding, but the Stockton won by making 13 more free throws than the Raiders. The Ospreys connected on 20 of 33 free throws while Rutgers-Newark made just seven of 19 attempts.
The Raiders have now lost two straight for just the second time this season. They are now 0-2 in overtime games this season.
Rutgers-Newark hosts William Paterson in an NJAC doubleheader on Wednesday night in The Golden Dome Arena. The women tip off at 6 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 8.
