Box Score

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. – Junior guard Vik Singh came off the bench to erase his career high in points in the first half on his way to a team-high 17 points in a 71-55 wire-to-wire win over Centenary College.
 
Singh made six of seven shots from the floor – including three of four attempts from 3-point range – to tally 15 points after checking in with 12:55 left in the period.  His final trey of the half gave the Scarlet Raiders their biggest lead of the period at 43-23 with 1:30 left.
 
Behind Singh and senior center Elvis Hodzic, who made all three of his field goal attempts, the Raiders shot a torrid 63.6% (14-22) in the first 20 minutes while senor forward Allen Kuiper made all six of his free throws to help the visitors sink 11 of 12 (91.7%) for the period.  Sophomore guard Darrian Collins dished off seven of his game-high nine assists before the break.  The nine assists tied his career high.
 
Junior forward Jordan McDaniel netted seven points as Rutgers-Newark opened the game with a 13-3 spurt.  McDaniel sank a jumper and a free throw with just six and half minutes gone to push the lead to 10 before Raider head coach Joe Loughran went to his reserves.
 
Centenary (4-5) got no closer than 10 points in the second half as they lost for just the second time in their last six games.  A 3-point play by junior forward David Azoroh gave the Raiders a 46-25 lead a minute and a half into the second period with a jumper by McDaniel putting Rutgers-Newark ahead by 21 again with 17:06 left.
 
Freshman guard Rashaan Spencer, who netted 13 of his game-high 18 points in the second half, had a pair of 3-point jumpers before adding pair of free throws to cap a 10-2 Cyclone run which shrank the Raider lead to 56-46 with 5:37 left.  Centenary reduced its deficit to 10 three more times over the next two and a half minutes before running out of gas.  The home team notched just one free throw over the final three minutes of the game while Rutgers-Newark pulled away by dropping in seven of eight from the line.
 
The Raiders made a season high 27 free throws, hitting season's best 90% (27-30) from the charity stripe, to stay comfortably ahead.  Collins made nine of 10 free throws to account for all of his points.
 
McDaniel finished with 16 points and seven rebounds while Hodzic worked inside for 11 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots.  Kuiper shared game-high honors in rebounding with McDaniel while making eight of 10 free throws.
 
Singh added four rebounds, an assist and a game-high two steals to his line for the afternoon.
 
Senior forwards John Case and Andy Charles netted 11 points apiece for Centenary with Charles adding a team-high six rebounds.
 
The win snapped a 2-game losing streak for the Raiders (9-3) who will now take an 18-day break before travelling to Rutgers University-Camden on January 7 to resume New Jersey Athletic Conference play in a women's and men's doubleheader.