Box Score

EWING, NJ – Rutgers-Newark secured a New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Tournament berth with a 72-58 win over The College of New Jersey in Packer Hall.

Sophomore swingman Christian Garcia had a team-high 18 points plus seven rebounds and a pair of steals as the Scarlet Raiders (16-6, NJAC 10-5) punched their ticket to the six-team playoff with three games left on the agenda.  The Lions (5-17, NJAC 3-12) suffered their fifth straight loss.

Senior center Hussein Abdelmaksoud dropped in all 10 of his free throws on his way to 16 points and eight rebounds while adding two assists and a blocked shot.  Senior point guard Al'Don Muhammad added a dozen points to go along with a game-high six assists while freshman forward David Azoroh came off the bench for 11 points as the Raiders completed a sweep of the regular-season series with TCNJ.

Sophomore guard Jayson Johnson led the Lions with a game-high 19 points, but he was the only TCNJ player to reach double figures.  Junior forward Alex Fox netted nine points while sophomore guard Ryan Keegan and junior forward Skyelar Ettin notched eight apiece.

TCNJ never led in the game, but the Lions tied the contest at 2-2, 4-4 and 6-6 before the Raiders took the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Abdelmaksoud at the six-minute mark.  Muhammad had a hand in every point in a 7-0 spurt which staked the Raiders to a 21-12 lead with 8:30 left in the period.  He converted a conventional 3-point play and assisted senior center Mark Moorman on a layup before making a steal and a layup to give Rutgers-Newark some breathing room.  TCNJ trimmed their deficit to four points, but they would get no closer.  A trey by Garcia with three ticks left gave the Raiders a 31-22 lead at the break.

In the second half, Johnson hit back-to-back layups and dropped in a free throw to again shrink the Lions' deficit to four points.  But Rutgers-Newark methodically pulled away to a 54-35 lead with 10:24 left.  TCNJ reeled the Raiders back in with a layup by Johnson making it 58-53 with 5:24 remaining.

Sophomore guard John Snow nailed a 3-point jumper, Abdelmaksoud went six-for-six from the free throw line and Azoroh slammed down two dunks as the Raiders closed out the game with a 14-5 rally.

The Raiders return to the NJAC tournament field for the second straight season and for the seventh time in the last nine seasons under 12-year head coach Joe Loughran.

Rutgers-Newark hosts Ramapo in an NJAC doubleheader on Wednesday in The Golden Dome.  The women's game tips off at 6 p.m. with the men to follow at 8.  It will be RED OUT ALERT night with free t-shirts, prizes and halftime performances.