Box Score

GLASSBORO, NJ – Senior guard Al'Don Muhammad netted nine points in a closing 22-4 Rutgers-Newark run which overtook Rowan in the final 30 seconds for an important 73-69 New Jersey Athletic Conference win in Esby Gym.

Muhammad, who netted 13 of his 18 points in the second half, nailed a 3-point jumper with 30 seconds left to give the Raiders the lead after they had trailed 65-51 with 4:52 remaining.  A pair of free throws by senior center Hussein Abdelmaksoud gave Rutgers-Newark the final margin of victory with 11 ticks remaining.  The Profs missed two chances to score in the closing seconds.

Abdelmaksoud and sophomore guard John Snow posted double-doubles.  Abdelmaksoud worked inside for 11 points and 13 rebounds while Snow netted a team-high 19 points with 10 rebounds.  Muhammad added a game-high seven assists and five rebounds to his line for the night.

Freshman forward David Azoroh, who chipped in 12 points, hit back-to-back inside buckets to ignite the decisive Raider run after a layup by junior guard Phil Jackson had upped the Rowan lead to 16 points.  Snow and reserve freshman guard Rahim Bunch nailed treys during the closing rally.

Rowan lead for 19 minutes and 30 seconds in the second period before being overtaken by the Raiders.

Senior guard Fred Battee hit five of nine 3-point jumpers to finish with a game-high 21 points while senior center Dee Benson totaled 11 points and seven rebounds.  Junior guard Rich McNamara tallied nine points and five rebounds while junior guard Jason Rosenberg tied Muhammad for game honors with seven assists while chipping in eight points.

Rutgers-Newark survived a torrid shooting performance by Battee in the opening half to trail by just one point, 36-35.  Battee, who poured in 16 points and hit four 3-point jumpers in the opening period, drained three treys during a 17-4 Prof run which pushed the Rowan lead to 20-10 with 11:30 left in the half.  But Snow with 11 points in the period helped prevent Rowan from breaking away. Although they never got even, the Raiders trimmed their deficit to one four times over the 3:24 of the half with Muhammad nailing a buzzer beating 3-point heave to give Rutgers-Newark the momentum going into the intermission.

The victory completed a regular-season series sweep over Rowan (17-7, NJAC 10-7) and kept alive hopes for a first-round bye in the NJAC Championship Tournament for the Raiders (18-6, NJAC 12-5).  If Richard Stockton (17-5, NJAC 12-4) falls to league-leading Ramapo (20-3, NJAC 14-3) on Monday night and Rutgers-Newark downs Kean in Wednesday's regular-season finale, the Raiders would seize the second seed in the six-team playoffs.  The top two teams receive an opening round bye.

It will be Men's Basketball Senior Night when Rutgers-Newark hosts Kean in a doubleheader on Wednesday in The Golden Dome.  The women tip off at 6 p.m. with the men's game following at 8.  Muhammad, Abdelmaksoud, Mark Moorman and Fateen Belfield will be honored in a pregame ceremony.