JERSEY CITY, N.J. (November 22, 2016) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team was topped by host New Jersey City University, 77-60, in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) opener for both schools Tuesday night.
 
Rutgers-Newark drops to 0-4 overall and 0-1 in the league, while NJCU improves to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the NJAC. The Scarlet Raiders will visit Stevens Institute of Technology Sunday afternoon in a non-conference showdown in Hoboken.
 
Senior guard Tyler Ofray led the Scarlet Raiders with 20 points and four rebounds, and senior Nadir Alston had a double-double with 12 points, 14 rebounds and two blocked shots. Junior Emmanuel Kema had 13 points and eight rebounds, and sophomore Mark Thomas notched six points and six boards.
 
Ofray had a big first half for the Scarlet Raiders, going 11-for-11 at the line and scoring 18 points as the two teams went into the intermission tied at 31.
 
NJCU scored 6-of-8 points to start the game, but two at the line for Ofray tied things at 11 with 14:07 on the clock. Kema drained a three-pointer to give the Scarlet Raiders the lead (14-11), and guard Ata Robinson canned a triple several moments later to give the Gothic Knights a 24-23 margin with 6:27 remaining in the period. The hosts would push their lead to five, but a 5-0 run to close the half for the Scarlet Raiders tied the score at the break.
 
NJCU came out strong in the second half and changed the game, running off seven-straight points in the first 1:11 to open a 38-31 lead. Two Kema three-pointers as part of a 7-0 run tied the game at 38, but the Gothic Knights went on to score 30 of the game's next 40 points to take control with a 68-48 lead.
 
The Scarlet Raiders played hard for the entire 40 minutes, battling within 13 points (73-60) with a 12-5 rally, but it was not enough as the Gothic Knights earned the 77-60 triumph.
 
The Scarlet Raiders shot 17-for-50 (34 percent) from the field, 4-for-15 from three and 22-for-31 (71 percent at the line). NJCU shot, 22-for-64 (34.4 percent) from the floor, 8-for-27 from three and 25-for-38 at the line, holding a 48-39 rebounding edge. Four Gothic Knights were in double figures, with guard Jalen Harris pacing the hosts with 16 points and forward Sam Toney tallying 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Per NJCU, it was the 80th meeting between Rutgers-Newark and NJCU in men's basketball and the Gothic Knights hold a 63-17 edge in the series.