ABINGTON, Pa. (December 10, 2016) – Sophomore forward Mark Thomas scored a career-high 21 points, senior forward Nadir Alston had a double-double and freshman guard Chase Barneys scored 14 points lead the Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team to a 65-53 non-conference win at Penn State University-Abington Saturday evening.
 
Thomas scored 21 points on just 10 shots, adding three steals and two rebounds, Alston had 15 points, 13 rebounds and a steal for the big-time double-double, while Barneys had 14 points, five assists, five rebounds and two steals. Freshman guard Mike Vick had five points, five assists, three rebounds and three blocked shots, and freshman forward Landon Gaines had 10 points and five rebounds.
 
Rutgers-Newark was able to build a 12-point lead after 20 minutes of play, using an 11-0 run to start the game. Barneys found Thomas for a pair 34 seconds in, and the lead moved to 4-0 when Vick fed Alston for a slam. Thomas scored the final five points in the run with a three-pointer and layup – both assisted by Vick.
 
Thomas nailed a triple to make it 17-2 in favor of the Scarlet Raiders, and after the Nittany Lions battled back within eight, freshman forward Landon Gaines sunk a triple to give Rutgers-Newark an 11-point cushion with 3:14 left in the first half.
 
Gaines again converted from long range to close the first, nailing a three with three ticks left to send Rutgers-Newark into the locker room with a 30-18 lead.
 
A little more than five minutes into the second half, Alston drilled a "J" to allow Newark to open a 16-point lead at 40-24, but an Abington (3-4) three-pointer midway through the period pulled the hosts within five points (46-41).
 
Less than two minutes later, Austin Slawter converted a steal into two points to get the Lions within two (46-44), and following a pair of foul shots for Gaines, Don Sloan canned a three to make 48-47 with 7:43 left.
 
Two Thomas foul shots, a Thomas jumper and two Barneys free throws created separation for Newark in a 6-0 run, with a massive three-point play from Barneys with 1:39 on the clock all but sealing the win for the visitors.

Rutgers-Newark shot 53.8 percent from the field, converting successfully on 21-of-39 attempts. Newark went 5-for-11 from deep and 18-for-26 at the line, holding a 35-27 margin on the glass and maintaining a lead for 98.6 percent of the game.
  
PSU shot 35.7 percent overall, going 8-for-20 from three and 5-for-12 at the line. Slawter and Sloan combined for 31 points to lead the Lions.
 
Rutgers-Newark – now 3-7 – will look to make it two-straight wins when the Raiders visit New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) rival Rutgers University-Camden Wednesday night.