CAMDEN, N.J. (December 14, 2016) – Freshman guard Chase Barneys had 15 points – including five big ones in the final 1:09 – and sophomore forward Mark Thomas had 18 points to lead the Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team to a 61-60 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) win at Rutgers University-Camden Wednesday night.
 
Rutgers-Newark improves to 3-2 in the NJAC and 4-7 overall, while Rutgers-Camden drops to 0-5 in the league and 0-7 overall. The Scarlet Raiders will return to action Saturday afternoon at Drew University in a non-conference contest to close out the 2016 portion of the schedule.
 
Barneys had a three-pointer and a driving layup in the final 1:09 of action to finish with a new career-high of 15 points, adding six rebounds and three assists to his line. Thomas had 18 points on just nine shots as the Scarlet Raiders shot 46.5 percent from the field, 4-for-14 from three and 17-for-30 at the free-throw line. Camden shot 38.8 percent overall, 6-for-17 from three and 16-for-24 at the line. R-N finished the tight conference battle that featured five ties and 13 lead changes with a 36-30 edge on the glass.
 
The Scarlet Raiders raced out to an early lead, scoring seven of the first nine points and opening a 7-2 edge after a jumper from freshman guard Mike Vick. Camden answered with a 10-2 rally to take a 12-9 advantage midway through the first half.
 
R-C was able to extend its lead to 11 points (25-14) with a 10-0 spurt, but the Scarlet Raiders outscored the Scarlet Raptors 13-6 down the stretch to get within four points at the break. Thomas and Vick each had four points in the spurt for Newark.
 
Rutgers-Newark turned the tables quickly on a 31-27 halftime deficit, scoring seven-straight points to start the second half to open a 34-31 lead. The two sides would go back and forth over the next several minutes, and a Vick layup made the score 44-41 in favor of the guests with about 10 minutes to play.
 
Rutgers-Camden reclaimed the lead at 52-50 when senior guard Julian Martin hit a three-pointer with 4:38 left in the game. Junior forward Dave Lunsford then hit 1-of-2 at the line to pull Rutgers-Newark back within a point, and when Camden was whistled for a technical foul, Thomas hit 1-of-2 to tie the game at 52 with 3:33 to go.
 
Freshman guard Chase Barneys found Thomas for a layup to push the Raiders back in front (54-52) with less than three minutes on the clock, and 1-of-2 at the line for freshman forward Landon Gaines allowed Newark to open a three-point lead. A defensive stop, a rebound from senior forward Nadir Alston and huge three-pointer from Barneys made the score 58-52 Rutgers-Newark, but junior guard Charlie Riccardi nailed a three of his own with 49 ticks left to slice the R-N lead in half.
 
Camden cut the lead to two (58-56) with 39 seconds showing on the clock, but Barneys came up big yet again, getting to the basket for a pair with 14 seconds to play.
 
The Scarlet Raptors would score again late, but they were unable to get over the hump, and the Scarlet Raiders earned a key conference road win to get back up over .500 in NJAC play.
 
Vick finished with eight points, three assists and two rebounds, and Alston had eight points, 10 rebounds, a block and a steal for Rutgers-Newark.
 
Camden was led by 13 points and six rebounds from Riccardi.