UNION, N.J. (November 30, 2016) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team evened its New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) record at 1-1 with a hard-fought 47-45 win at Kean University Wednesday night in Harwood Arena.
 
Rutgers-Newark improves to 1-5 overall (1-1 NJAC), while Kean drops to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in the league.
 
With the game tied at 43 after a Kean three-pointer with 1:36 left, junior guard Tyler Ofray hit a pair at the line to give the Scarlet Raiders the lead. A stop on the next possession, a defensive rebound from Ofray and a layup from sophomore forward Mark Thomas – assisted by Ofray – gave the Scarlet Raiders a 47-43 edge with 27 ticks on the clock. Kean was able to score on its next possession, but the Scarlet Raiders were able to keep the Cougars off the board the rest of the way, with freshman Mike Vick securing a defensive rebound with one second left to lock up the team's first win of the season.
 
The Scarlet Raiders will now head back to The Golden Dome for a three-game homestand beginning Saturday night against NJAC rival Montclair State University. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. and all the action can be seen live at www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com.
 
With the Scarlet Raiders struggling to score to start the game, Kean opened an early 6-0 edge, but senior Nadir Alston put the guests on the board with a bucket 4:41 into the action. A three-pointer from Vick and a layup from freshman Tyree Wilson helped Rutgers-Newark to a 9-8 lead with 12:17 left in the first half, and a slam dunk from junior forward Dave Lunsford pushed the margin to three (14-11).
 
Two free throws from Alston gave Rutgers its largest lead of the half (nine points) with 3:48 on the clock,  and a pair at the line from Ofray sent the Scarlet Raiders to the break with a 28-22 lead.
 
Despite only shooting 33.3 percent in the game's first 20 minutes, Rutgers-Newark hit 6-of-7 at the line and held a 25-15 edge on the glass.
 
Similar to the first, the Scarlet Raiders struggled to start the second, but it was a bucket from Alston and a three-pointer from Ofray that got things going, giving R-N a 33-27 lead after the Cougars trimmed the edge to one.
 
The two defenses dictated the action most of the game as the Scarlet Raiders shot 30.2 percent (16-for-53) from the floor, 25 percent (4-for-16) from three and 11-for-14 (78.6 percent) at the line. Kean shot 29.1 percent (16-for-55) from the floor, 27.8 percent from distance and 8-for-10 at the stripe. Rutgers-Newark ended with a big-time 48-31 margin in rebounding, grabbing 17 offensive boards which led to a 15-6 edge in second-chance points.
 
Ofray scored a team-high 14 points, adding four assists, four rebounds and two steals to his line. Alston had an excellent double-double with 11 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and two rejections, and Thomas finished with seven points, eight boards and two blocks. Vick led the Scarlet Raider reserves with six points, seven rebounds and two assists.
 
The NJAC clash featured just three lead changes and two ties, but the margin for both teams was never larger than six points throughout the entire second half.