NEWARK, N.J. (January 11, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team went shot-for-shot and play-for-play with a deep and talented TCNJ team Wednesday night in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) battle in The Golden Dome, but the Scarlet Raiders were eventually edged by a score of 64-57.
 
R-N drops to 4-11 overall and 3-5 in the NJAC, while TCNJ improves to 10-5 overall and 6-2 in the conference. Newark will look to get back into the win column Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. when the Scarlet Raiders visit conference rival Rowan University.
 
After a 10-second violation gave Rutgers-Newark a chance to tie the game and sent the home crowd into a frenzy, TCNJ guard Eric Murdock Jr. converted a steal into two points with just 20.9 seconds remaining to give the Lions a 61-57 lead. From that point, Newark could not get the scores it needed, and TCNJ hit 3-of-4 at the line to lock up of NJAC road win.
 
Sophomore forward Mark Thomas notched a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double to lead the Scarlet Raiders, and freshman guard Chase Barneys had 15 points, seven assists and four rebounds in a strong performance. Freshman forward Landon Gaines tallied 12 points, two rebounds and two thefts as the Scarlet Raiders shot 35.8 percent from the field, hit seven three-pointers (7-for-20) and went 12-for-21 at the line.
 
TCNJ shot 40.4 percent from the field, 3-for-9 from deep and 15-for-22 at the line, getting 20 points, 10 rebounds and four steals from senior forward Corey Stanford, and 15 points and 14 rebounds from veteran big man Bobby Brackett.
 
The Lions held a 44-36 margin on the glass and never trailed in the game, but the Scarlet Raiders put up a valiant effort in what ended up being a tough loss for the hosts.
 
TCNJ jumped out to an early 10-2 edge, but the young Scarlet Raiders were able to slow down the Lions, holding the guests to just 19 points over the next 15 minutes.
 
A three-pointer from Barneys cut the lead to five (10-5), and a bucket from junior center Kenya Brown eventually tied the game at 15 with 7:40 left in the half.
 
Brackett helped the Lions to go back up six with a made jumper, but a three-pointer from freshman guard Mike Vick slowed the momentum and the two teams went to intermission with the Lions holding a 29-24 lead.
 
Brown scored eight points for the Scarlet Raiders in the first half, and Rutgers-Newark assisted on seven of its nine made baskets.
 
The Lions would push the lead to seven early in the second-half action, but a three-point play from Thomas pulled the Scarlet Raiders within three, and TCNJ came right back with five straight to force a timeout from Rutgers.
 
Out of the timeout, Barneys took over, hitting two three-pointers and another bucket to tie the game at 37 with 14:47 on the clock. TCNJ took its own timeout to slow the momentum and quiet the bubbling Golden Dome crowd, and the Lions answered in the form of Stanford who went on his own 5-0 rally.
 
After a span of more than four minutes without a basket, freshman forward Landon Gaines converted a three-point play to pull Rutgers-Newark back within two (42-40). The momentum then swung back in the favor of TCNJ, before a Gaines triple pulled his team back within three (49-46) at 7:05, but the pendulum went back to the Lions as Brackett tallied four-straight at the line.
 
A Barneys foul shot, another monster three-pointer from Gaines – assisted by Barneys – and two at the line from Thomas trimmed the lead to two, before a TCNJ turnover and Thomas teardrop in the paint tied the game at 57 with 2:10 on the clock. From that point, the Lions ended the game on a 7-0 run.
 
Fans should visit www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com Saturday for links to follow all the action from Rowan live.