NEWARK, NJ – Rutgers-Newark overcame torrid shooting by Stevens to open its home slate with a 69-64 win in The Golden Dome Arena.

Scarlet Raider junior guard John Snow netted 14 of his game-high 24 points in the second half of the seesaw battle which featured 16 lead changes and six ties.

It took a blocked shot by sophomore forward Jordan McDaniel on a game-tying 3-point attempt by Duck senior guard Phillip DeSeignora with three seconds left to stave off Stevens which lost despite shooting 55.8% (24-43) while hitting seven of 13 shots from beyond the arc.

Snow had eight points to key what proved to be the decisive 16-2 run which erased the Ducks' biggest lead of the second half. DeSeignora sank the first of two free throw tries to stake Stevens to a 51-46 lead with 13:46 left. But Snow drained a 3-point jumper and converted a conventional 3-point play around a layup by junior forward Christian Garcia to give the Raiders the lead at 53-51.

After a layup by junior forward Kenny Gan knotted the score, reserve forward Allen Kuiper netted back-to-back buckets inside and Snow nailed a jumper before McDaniel capped the rally with a jumper to give the Raiders their biggest lead of the afternoon at 61-53 with 8:41 remaining.

A layup by sophomore forward Alex Lorenz shaved the Raider lead to 61-59 with 5:52 left and set up the tense final minutes. Sophomore guard Evan Klimchak drained a 3-point jumper with 2:15 left to bring the Ducks to within a point at 65-64.

Sophomore forward David Azoroh, who came off the bench for his first action of the year for the Raiders, was fouled on an inbounds pass with 16 seconds left and made both free throws to give Rutgers-Newark a 67-64 edge.

Stevens inbounded the ball and called timeout with 15 ticks remaining to set up its final shot. DeSeignora came off of a screen on the right side of the lane and went up for a 3-point attempt. McDaniel charged up the side of the lane and launched himself to deflect the shot. Garcia was fouled after grabbing the rebound and sank two free throws with 2.2 seconds left to ice the decision.

Duck junior forward Patrick Sabatino posted all 10 of his points in the opening half, but Snow matched his output in 20 minutes which featured 14 lead changes and three ties. Klimchak and senior guard Andrew Meszaros wrapped 3-point baskets around a layup by senior guard Matt Skrelja to stake Stevens to its biggest lead of the game, 32-25, with 4:06 left in the period. But a trey by Snow with 37 ticks remaining gave the Raiders an improbable 34-33 halftime lead despite 65% (13-20) shooting by the Ducks.

Garcia finished with 10 points, five rebounds and five assists while McDaniel equaled his season high with 14 points. Azoroh, who connected on all six of his free throws, tallied a dozen points with a game-high seven rebounds to help Rutgers-Newark dominate the backboards, 31-18. Reserve sophomore guard Rahim Bunch dished out five assists, grabbed three rebounds, made two steals and blocked a shot.

Meszaros connected on eight of 10 shots from the floor while making both of his long-range tries to finish with 21 points to lead Stevens (2-3). Klimchak added 13 points for the Ducks while Sabatino finished with three rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.

Rutgers-Newark (3-2, NJAC 0-1) hosts Montclair State in a New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader in The Golden Dome Arena on Wednesday. The women's game tips off at 6 p.m. with the men to follow at 8.