Game Program | Tournament Bracket | NJAC Leaders | Tournament Info
R-N Schedule/Results | WPU Schedule/Results
R-N Stats | WPU Stats
NEWARK, N.J. (February 19, 2016) - The Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team will host William Paterson University Saturday night in The Golden Dome in the opening round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
The Scarlet Raiders earned the rite to host the first round game thanks to a 14-4 record in the conference (19-6 overall). They clinched the third seed in the tournament with a wild 95-94 double overtime victory at Ramapo College Wednesday night, getting 44 points from senior forward
Jordan McDaniel - the most by a conference player in nearly 10 years - and 30 points from senior guard
John Snow.
William Paterson (13-12 overall) earned the sixth seed in the conference tournament with a record of 8-10 in the NJAC, locking up a berth with an 85-65 victory over Rowan University in both school's regular-season finale.
Rutgers-Newark defeated William Paterson twice in the regular season, but Scarlet Raider Head Coach
Joe Loughran knows the Pioneers will be an incredibly stiff test.
"They (William Paterson) ended the year with three-straight wins and both Bright (Mensah) and Terik (Bridgeman) have been playing really well down the stretch," said Loughran. "Add that to the fact that it's very challenging to beat any team three times in one season, and we will absolutely have our work cut out for us Saturday night."
Rutgers-Newark 78, WPU 65 - January 9 - Wayne, N.J.McDaniel scored 32 points on 16 shots to lead the Scarlet Raiders to a 13-point win over the Pioneers in the first meeting this season. The 32 was a new career-high for the forward at the time, and both
David Azoroh (17 points, 11 rebounds) and
John Snow (13 points, 10 rebounds) had double-doubles.
Rutgers-Newark 74, WPU 58 - February 6 - Newark, N.J.Azoroh scored his 1,000th career point early in the second meeting between the two schools, and the Scarlet Raiders led wire-to-wire after jumping out to an early 9-0 lead. Snow scored a game-high 25 points, Azoroh finished with 18 and McDaniel added 15 points and nine rebounds.
The contest will feature the top two scorers in the league as Paterson's Bright Mensah is No. 1 (21.7) and McDaniel is No. 2 (21.3). McDaniel is also fifth in rebounding, averaging 7.0 per outing, while Bridgeman is No. 2 in the league at 8.5 per game, and McDaniel's 53.8 field-goal percentage is fifth in the conference.
The winner of Saturday's game will head to second-seeded Stockton University Wednesday night in the tournament semifinals. The Ospreys - along with New Jersey City University - earned a bye into the semis.
How they stack up...| Rutgers-Newark | Stat | William Paterson |
| 73.3 PPG | Scoring Offense | 75.6 PPG |
| 66.3 PPG | Scoring Defense | 72.5 PPG |
| Plus-7.0 | Scoring Margin | Plus-3.1 |
| 46.2 % | Field-Goal % | 42.8 % |
| 39.4 % | Field-Goal % Defense | 43.1 % |
| 70.7 % | Free-Throw % | 66.2 % |
| 33.9 % | 3-Point FG % | 33.5 % |
| 30.1 % | 3-Point FG % Defense | 32.2 % |
| Plus-3.5 (933-845) | Rebounding Margin | Minus-4.2 (859-961) |
| 112 | Blocked Shots | 82 |
| 152 | Steals | 223 |
| 278 | Assists | 325 |
| 5-0 | Last Five Games | 3-2 |
Admission to Saturday's game in The Golden Dome is $5 for adults and $2 for students, seniors and children. Rutgers-Newark students, staff and faculty will receive free admission with ID.
Fans unable to attend the game can follow live stats and live video via links at
www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com.
