Box Score

NEWARK, N.J. – Rutgers University-Newark dominated both ends of the floor in an 83-58 win over Rowan University in the opening round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Tournament in The Golden Dome Arena.

NJAC Championship Tournament Bracket (PDF)
 
The Scarlet Raiders (18-8) advance to Tuesday night's semifinal round at top-seeded Stockton (20-5).  New Jersey City (13-13), which upended third-seeded TCNJ in Ewing on Saturday, will take on second-seeded William Paterson in Wayne in the other semifinal match.  Both games are set for 7 p.m. tip offs.
 
Junior forward Jordan McDaniel hit nine of 11 shots from the floor – sinking all three of his shots from beyond the arc – to finish with 25 points and help the Scarlet Raiders shoot 58.3% (14-24) from the floor in each half.  The Raiders poured in 12 of 18 shots from 3-point range – including seven-for-11 accuracy in the first half – to offset 22 turnovers.
 
In a game pushed back a day by a snow storm, the Profs were held to 29.2 percent field goal accuracy which included an icy afternoon from long range.  Junior guard Darryl Robinson sank Rowan's only 3-pointer with just 32 seconds left on the clock after the visitors had missed 16 treys in a row.
 
McDaniel tied senior center Elvis Hodzic for team honors with eight rebounds to help the Raiders control the glass, 40-30.  Hodzic finished with five points and four assists as Rutgers-Newark kicked the ball from the paint to perimeter to stoke the attack.
 
Senior guard Doze Ikwuegbu dropped in four of seven 3-point attempts on his way to 18 points and five rebounds while senior guard Chris Foreman gunned in a pair of treys and sank five of six free throws to finish with 15 points and a career-high six assists.
 
Senior swingman Christian Garcia tied Foreman for game honors with six assists while adding six points, six rebounds and a team-high two steals.  Junior forward David Azoroh also notched six points and six rebounds while recording a game-high three blocked shots.
 
Junior forward Ike Robinson came off the bench for a team-high 13 points for Rowan and added five rebounds.  Reserve senior forward Daniel Waynick totaled 10 points, three rebounds and two steals.  Junior guard Kris O'Connor chipped in 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Profs while senior forward Mike Simpson hauled down a team-high eight rebounds while adding six points.
 
Rutgers-Newark completed a 3-game sweep of Rowan this season in the first-ever NJAC playoff meeting between the teams.
 
Ikwuegbu poured in 15 points, hitting three of five shots from the beyond the arc, and McDaniel hit all four of his shots – including three treys – during the first half when the Raiders pulled methodically away to lead 38-17 at the break.  Rowan missed all eight of its long-range jumpers in the period and shot just 25% (7-28) overall.
 
Rowan got no closer than 17 points in the second half before the Raiders pulled away to lead by as many as 29 as both benches were emptied.
 
Stockton swept the regular-season series with Rutgers-Newark, edging the Raiders, 48-45, in Newark on December 13 and taking a 65-57 decision in Galloway on January 24.
 
The Ospreys and Raiders have meet four times in the NJAC playoffs with each team winning twice.  Rutgers-Newark upended Stockton on the road in 2007, 84-76.  The Ospreys downed the Raiders in the championship game in Galloway in 2009, 62-54.  In 2010, Stockton took an 86-73 semifinal decision in Galloway.  In 2013, Rutgers-Newark got past the Ospreys, 49-46, in The Golden Dome in the semifinals.
 
The Raiders advanced beyond the opening round of the tournament for the eighth time in nine tries during head coach Joe Loughran's tenure.