Box Score

NEWARK, NJ – Guards Chris Foreman and John Snow combined for 44 points as Rutgers-Newark edged Kean, 66-63, in the final minute of a New Jersey Athletic Conference game in The Golden Dome Arena.

The victory extended the Raiders' winning streak to four and lifted Rutgers-Newark (10-5, NJAC 6-2) into a tie for first place in the 10-team conference with Richard Stockton (12-2, NJAC 6-2) and William Paterson (11-3, NJAC 6-2).

In a tight battle which featured nine lead changes and five ties, Kean senior center Xavier Fuller tapped in a missed layup by junior guard Emmanuel Omowole with 42 seconds left to level the score for the last time at 63-63 and set up the frantic final seconds.

Scarlet Raider junior forward Christian Garcia, who suffered through a three for 12 shooting performance, made the second of two free throws with 6.4 seconds left after hauling down a defensive rebound to put Rutgers-Newark ahead for good.  But the Cougars (8-5, NJAC 4-4) used a timeout to set up an inbounds play.  Sophomore guard Mike Diamond's rifled pass slipped through the hands of senior guard Ali Mix and into the grasp of Foreman with 3.4 seconds on the clock.

Foreman knocked down both free throws to give him a career-high 23 points before the Cougars' inbounds pass was deflected out of bounds in front of the Kean bench by a Rutgers-Newark defender – giving the visitors one last chance.  But as the horn sounded, junior guard J.J. Hladik's desperation 3-point shot from the right elbow was wide left.

Foreman knocked down five 3-point jumpers and made all four of his free throws to lead all scorers while adding two assists and two steals.  His previous high point total in Scarlet & Black had come in an 87-70 win over Montclair State on December 4.

Snow notched his eighth 20-point game of the season while almost registering his second double-double by hauling down nine rebounds.  He dropped in eight of nine free throws to help the Raiders shoot 82.4 per cent (14-17) from the charity stripe.

Garcia made up for his tough shooting night by collaring a game-high 10 rebounds while contributing eight points.

Mix finished with a team-high 19 points and five rebounds for Kean.  Omowole had a game-high four assists to go along with a dozen points while senior guard Mike Burton came up with 11 points, four rebounds and three steals.  Fuller worked inside for nine points, eight rebounds, two steals and two assists.

Back-to-back 3-point jumpers by Collins and Foreman followed by a driving layup by Snow put the Raiders up 32-28 in the final minute of the opening period before Mix knocked down a long-range jumper from the right elbow with 20 ticks left to make it a 1-point game at the break.

After a jumper by Foreman put the Raiders ahead, 19-12, with 8:13 in the half, Mix and Omowole combined for 11 of the Cougars' points during a 13-2 run which boosted Kean into the lead at 25-21 with 3:31 left.

Snow netted 11 points in the opening half with Foreman adding 10 for the Raiders while Mix with 13 points and Omowole with 10 carried the Cougars.  Rutgers-Newark forged an 18-12 edge on the boards but Kean kept things close by scoring 13 points off of 10 Raider turnovers.

The Raiders gained a share of first place when Ramapo upended William Paterson, 99-96, in Wayne tonight.  Stockton downed Rowan, 88-59, move up into the three-way tie.

Rutgers-Newark visits Rowan on Saturday for an NJAC doubleheader.  The women's game tips off at 1 p.m. before the men follow at 3.