HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (November 15, 2016) – Junior guard Tyler Ofray scored a career-high 30 points on 8-of-14 shooting but it was not enough as the Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team suffered a 65-62 loss at Centenary College in the 2016-17 season-opener for both schools.
 
Sophomore guard Jake Logue hit a three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining to break a 62-all tie to lift the Cyclones to the win. A close game throughout, the contest featured 10 ties and five lead changes.
 
Ofray went 12-of-13 at the line and added five steals, three assists and three rebounds to his line. Junior Emmanuel Kema added 11 points and three rebounds, while junior Kenya Brown and sophomore Mark Thomas each had six points and five rebounds, with Thomas adding three assists to his line. Senior Nadir Alston paced the Scarlet Raider reserves with five points and 10 rebounds.
 
Rutgers-Newark shot 35.2 percent (19-for-54) from the floor, 4-for-21 (19 percent) from distance and 20-for-28 (71.4 percent) at the line. The Raiders had 11 assists, nine steals and 41 rebounds, while Centenary grabbed 42 rebounds, dished out 13 assists and had nine steals. The Cyclones shot 33.9 percent (19-for-56) from the field, 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) from three and 22-for-29 (75.9 percent) at the line.
 
After the Scarlet Raiders took an early 6-4 lead, Centenary responded with a 13-2 run to take a nine-point advantage with 12:33 left in the opening half. R-N chipped away, getting within two before another run from the Cyclones created a cushion, but three-straight free throws from Ofray with four seconds left in the half pulled the Scarlet Raiders within one at the break (36-35).
 
Alston hit a jumper to tie things at 41 just 3:28 into the second, and after the hosts went back on top by seven points, a three-pointer from Thomas made it a one-point game (52-51) with just 10:37 remaining.
 
A fastbreak layup from Ofray tied the game at 54-all, and an Ofray steal on the other end led to a Kema layup to give Newark a 56-54 margin with 6:08 to go.
 
Two Logue foul shots put his team back up by two (60-58) with 4:45 left, but Ofray struck again late, converting a steal into two points to tie things at 62-all.
 
That would be all for the Raiders as Logue hit the big three-pointer with just 18 seconds left.
 
Rutgers-Newark will return to action in The Golden Dome Friday and Saturday when it hosts the annual John K. Adams Tip-Off Classic. R-N will take on Southern Virginia University at 7:30 p.m. in its tournament opener as Tufts and FDU-Florham will square off in the other matchup.
 
Fans should check www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com Friday for links to live stats and video.