Box Score

UNION, NJ – Rutgers-Newark was upended by Kean University, 77-73, in its New Jersey Athletic Conference regular-season finale in Harwood Arena to slip to third place in the conference standings.

The Scarlet Raider loss coupled with William Paterson's 81-61 win over Ramapo and Montclair State's 68-58 victory over The College of New Jersey set the stage for Rutgers-Newark to host sixth-seeded Montclair State at 7 p.m. on Saturday in The Golden Dome in the opening round of the NJAC Championship Tournament.

2014 NJAC Championship Tournament Bracket

Rutgers-Newark shot a sizzling 64% (16-25) in the first half to seize a 47-40 lead, but the Raiders netted just 26 second-half points while Kean scorched the nets at 56% in each half in the upset.

Junior guard Doze Ikwuegbu paced the balanced Rutgers-Newark attack by hitting four of seven shots from beyond the arc on his way to 16 points, three rebounds and three assists.  Junior guard John Snow and sophomore forward Jordan McDaniel totaled a dozen points and four rebounds apiece.

Junior forward Christian Garcia finished with a game-high nine rebounds, eight points and a team-high six assists while sophomore forward David Azoroh and junior guard Chris Foreman netted eight points each.  Rookie guard Darrian Collins came off the bench for seven points and three assists.

The Cougars nailed 12 of 19 shots from 3-point range with sophomore guard Tommy Soulias connecting on eight of nine long-range jumpers on his way to 26 points.  Senior guard Ali Mix netted 17 of his 24 points in the second half while chipping in a game-high eight assists, five rebounds and a pair of steals.

Starters scored all of Kean's points with senior forward Kyle Latorre getting 11 points, senior guard Michael Burton netting 10 and senior center Xavier Fuller adding six on Senior Night.  Latorre hauled down seven rebounds and contributed four assists while Burton collared six rebounds.

In a game that featured seven ties and nine lead changes, it came down to the final minute to decide the winner. 

Ikwuegbu drained a 3-point jumper with 1:35 to knot the score for the final time at 73-73 before Mix answered with a trey with a minute on the clock.

The Raiders missed a 3-point jumper with 42 ticks remaining before Latorre made key block on the follow shot attempt by Snow.  With Rutgers-Newark forced to foul, Latorre made the first of two free throws to give Kean a 4-point cushion.

Rutgers-Newark missed three shots from beyond the arc in the final22 seconds before Fuller swept away a defensive rebound with seven seconds left seal the Raiders' fate.

The Kean win boosted them into the fourth seed in the NJAC playoffs and the Cougars (13-12, NJAC 9-9) will host fifth-seeded New Jersey City (14-11, NJAC 9-9) on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in Union.

Montclair State (11-13, NJAC 8-10) won on the road to secure the final championship tournament slot.  Rutgers-Newark swept the regular-season series between the teams.

Richard Stockton (21-4, NJAC 15-3) claimed the top seed with a harrowing 75-72 win at Rowan while William Paterson (20-5, NJAC 14-4) pounded Ramapo, 81-61, in Mahwah to sneak past the Raiders into the second seed.  The top two seeds get a bye into next Wednesday's semifinals.

The winner of the Rutgers-Newark and Montclair State contest goes to WPU with the Kean –NJCU victor headed to Galloway to take on Stockton.  Both semifinal games tip off at 7 p.m.