Box Score MONTCLAIR, N.J. – Junior forward
David Azoroh's driving layup with 30 seconds left lifted Rutgers University-Newark to a 62-60 New Jersey Athletic Conference win over Montclair State in the Panzer Athletic Center.
Azoroh, who paced the Scarlet Raiders with 15 points and five rebounds, drove down the right side of the lane for the game-winning basket after the Red Hawks (3-3, NJAC 2-1) had reeled off eight straight points to tie the score at 60-60 in the final minute.
After Azoroh, who went nine for nine from the charity stripe, dropped in a pair of free throws with 4:03 remaining to stake the Raiders to a 60-52 lead, Rutgers-Newark committed three turnovers to help fuel an 8-0 Red Hawk run which ended with a steal and layup by senior forward Chris Torres with 52 ticks left.
Coming out of a timeout, the Raiders passed the ball around the perimeter before Azoroh knifed past a defender to bank in the decisive layup with 30.7 seconds on the clock.
The Red Hawks set up two shots in the final 10 seconds following timeouts, but a layup attempt by sophomore guard Erick Loften-Harris and a final 3-point jumper from the right elbow by freshman guard Lavrone Green missed the mark.
Junior forward
Jordan McDaniel hit five of nine shots from the floor and four of five free throws to finish with 14 points for Rutgers-Newark while senior swingman
Christian Garcia tallied 11 points, five rebounds and three assists before fouling out in the final minutes.
Sophomore guard
Darrian Collins dished out three assists and went four for four at the free throw line for the Raiders while senior forward
Allen Kuiper hauled down five rebounds and scored three points. Senior guard
Chris Foreman chipped in five points and three rebounds while senior center
Elvis Hodzic registered four points and four rebounds before fouling out of the game.
Freshman forward Devyn Ransom scored 10 of his team-high 14 points in the second half for MSU. He also pulled down a seven rebounds to share game-high honors with Loften-Harris who scored eight points.
The Raiders offset a one-for-11 night from 3-point range by sinking 21 of 25 free throws in the physical battle which featured 48 personal fouls. The Red Hawks made 25 of 32 charity tosses while connecting on just one of 15 long-range jumpers.
It was the third straight win for the Raiders while Montclair State suffered its second consecutive loss in its home opener.
Rutgers-Newark (6-1, NJAC 2-0) hosts The College of New Jersey (3-4, NJAC 1-2) in an NJAC doubleheader on Saturday in The Golden Dome Arena. The Raider women take on the Lions at 6 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 8.
