Box Score

NEWARK, NJ – Sophomore swingman Christian Garcia poured in 17 of his game-high 26 points in the second half as Rutgers-Newark pulled away from Kean for a 79-62 win which gave the Scarlet Raiders an opening round bye in the upcoming New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Tournament.

2013 NJAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament Bracket (PDF)

Senior center Hussein Abdelmaksoud notched his third straight double-double with 15 points, a game-high 16 rebounds and three assists as Rutgers-Newark (19-6, NJAC 13-5) edged Richard Stockton (18-6, NJAC 13-5) on a tie-breaker for the second seed in the six-team league championship playoffs.

Sophomore guard John Snow barely missed a double-double with nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals for the Raiders while freshman forward David Azoroh came off the bench for nine points and three rebounds.  Sophomore guard Doze Ikwuegbu added eight points, four rebounds and four assists.

Junior guard Michael Burton paced the Cougars (7-18, NJAC 6-12) with 15 points  and six rebounds while junior guard Kenny Pace knocked down three of four 3-point tries to finish with a dozen points.

Kean made five treys and shot 48% from the floor in the opening period as there were three ties and three lead changes on the way to a 29-29 tie after 20 minutes.

But on Senior Night, Abdelmaksoud converted a 3-point play on a breakaway basket following a turnover to open the second half before senior forward Fateen Belfield  scored inside after another Kean turnover to give Rutgers-Newark the lead for good after just 45 seconds.

Garcia poured in 11 points during the decisive 19-1 Raider run which made it 58-38 with 10:34 remaining.  Kean never got closer than 16 points down the stretch as Rutgers-Newark pulled away to lead by as many as 23 points in the closing minutes.  Both coaches emptied their benches for the final two minutes.

Rutgers-Newark caps its regular season with its highest NJAC finish in program history and with its first-ever opening round bye in the conference playoffs.

Richard Stockton will host red-hot New Jersey City (14-11, NJAC 9-9), which has reeled off seven straight conference wins to garner the sixth seed, on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Galloway.  The Gothic Knights' run began with a buzzer-beating shot in a 51-50 win over Rutgers-Newark in Jersey City on January 23.

The Stockton-New Jersey City winner visits The Golden Dome on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for a semifinal contest.

Abdelmaksoud, Belfield, Al'Don Muhammad and Mark Moorman were honored prior to the tip-off of their final regular-season game in The Golden Dome.