MADISON, N.J. (December 17, 2016) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team was defeated by Drew University Saturday afternoon in Baldwin Gymnasium as the Rangers topped the Scarlet Raiders, 67-57.
 
Drew improves to 5-4 overall, while the Scarlet Raiders drop to 4-8 and see their two-game winning streak come to end. Newark will return to action in 2017 on January 4 against defending New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Champion Stockton University in The Golden Dome.
 
Sophomore forward Mark Thomas led Rutgers-Newark with an excellent 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Thomas picked up a double-double thanks to 11 rebounds, adding one block and one steal to his line in what was a career performance. Freshman guard Chase Barneys had 12 points on four three-pointers and three rebounds, and senior forward Nadir Alston had five points and five boards. Freshman guard Troy Lopez had seven points and two assists, and freshman forward Landon Gaines had five points and three rebounds.
 
R-N shot 35.6 percent from the field, 6-for18 from three-point range and 9-for-14 at the stripe, grabbing 39 rebounds and dishing out seven assists. Newark notched 26 points in the paint, 12 points off turnovers and 12 second-chance tallies.
 
Drew shot 47.1 percent from the field, 8-for-24 from deep and 11-for-23 at the line, totaling 38 rebounds, 15 assists, nine steals and four blocked shots.
 
The Rangers were able to take control early, outscoring the Scarlet Raiders 22-2 to start the game, but a triple from Barneys with 1:43 left in the first half helped R-N trim the deficit to 12 (35-23) at the break.
 
Drew scored the first six points of the second half on the back of a pair of three-pointers, but Lopez and Barneys three's with a little more than six minutes left to play made it an 11-point game (55-44) and got Rutgers-Newark within striking distance.
 
A Thomas layup and Thomas three-point play cut the Drew lead to six, and a put-back from junior forward Dave Lunsford sliced the lead to five points with 3:39 left to play (58-53).
 
Unfortunately for the Scarlet Raiders, five is as close as they would get as the Rangers did what they had to down the stretch.
 
Fans should follow @ScarletRaiders on twitter throughout the holiday break for the latest on Rutgers-Newark men's basketball.