NEWARK, N.J. (December 11, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team improved to 4-6 overall with a 72-59 come-from-behind win over Centenary University Monday night in The Golden Dome.
 
Rutgers-Newark was able to erase a 19-point first-half deficit en route to its second-straight victory. The Scarlet Raiders will look to close out the 2017 portion of their schedule strong when they host non-conference foe Drew University Saturday afternoon in Newark. Centenary falls to 2-7 with the loss.
 
The Scarlet Raiders were led by junior guard Tyler Ofray and senior center Dave Lunsford. Ofray scored 23 points on just nine shots (5-for-9), going 13-for-13 at the line. He added five assists, four rebounds and three steals to his line in what was a sterling all-around performance. Lunsford picked up a strong double-double, tallying 13 points and 13 rebounds. The senior also rejected a career-high six shots, even adding a pair of thefts to the finest performance of his career. Junior forward Mark Thomas played a nice game as well, scoring 17 points (8-for-12) and grabbing six rebounds.
 
After trading baskets at the start of the second half. Four-straight points from Ofray made it a seven-point game, and moments later a steal from sophomore guard Chase Barneys resulted in a thunderous slam dunk from Lunsford, forcing a Centenary timeout after the Cyclones saw what was a 19-point lead in the first cut all the way down to five (36-31).
 
Freshman Jordan Herrin – who played a strong game for Rutgers-Newark as well – nailed a three-pointer after another Scarlet Raider stop to pull the hosts within two, and moments later, sophomore guard Tyree Wilson delivered a fastbreak alleyoop to Lunsford to tie things at 43-all with 9:20 on the clock.
 
The alleyoop was part of a 13-0 run for Rutgers-Newark that changed the game, turning a 43-39 deficit into a 52-43 lead with 7:15 left. Ofray, Lunsford and Thomas all made big baskets in the game-changing rally for the Raiders and Centenary would get no closer than seven the rest of the way.
 
It was a tale of two halves for Rutgers-Newark, as the Raiders allowed 34 points in the first and just 25 in the second. The hosts tallied 49 points of their own in the second, ending the period plus-24 and shooting a sparkling 64 percent in the half (16-for-25). Rutgers-Newark took care of the ball, committing just seven turnovers over the final 20 minutes. The Scarlet Raiders also forced nine Cyclone mishaps after Centenary committed just one turnover in the first.
 
Rutgers-Newark shot 47.2 percent  (25-for-53) from the field, 2-for-10 from three and an excellent 20-for-24 (83.3 percent) from the foul line. The Scarlet Raiders were plus-18 on the glass (46-28) and totaled seven steals and six blocks as a team.
 
Lunsford staked Rutgers-Newark to an early 6-3 lead thanks to four quick points, but a 17-2 run for the Cyclones gave the guests a 20-8 lead with 12:39 remaining in the first.
 
The lead moved to 19 (31-12) with a little more than seven minutes left in the half, but Rutgers-Newark closed the period with 12 of the final 15 points to get within 11 (34-23) at intermission.
 
Centenary finished the contest shooting 32.2 percent from the field (19-for-59), 34.6 percent from long range and 75 percent (12-for-16) at the stripe. The Cyclones were led by 32 points, four assists, two steals and two rebounds from senior guard Rashaan Spencer.
 
Fans unable to make it to Newark Saturday for the Scarlet Raider game against Drew can tune in live at www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com/watch. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. from The Golden Dome.