MAHWAH, N.J. (December 6, 2017) – Defending New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Champion and nationally-ranked No. 7 Ramapo College defeated Rutgers University-Newark in a conference game Wednesday night in the Bradley Center. The final score was 60-47.
 
Rutgers-Newark falls to 2-6 overall and 0-4 in the NJAC, while Ramapo moves to 4-0 in the conference and 6-1 overall. The Scarlet Raiders will look to get into the win column Saturday night at 8 p.m. when they host Rutgers University-Camden in The Golden Dome.
 
Ramapo was able to build a big 31-13 lead after one half of play, but Rutgers-Newark battled, outscoring the Roadrunners 34-29 in the second stanza.
 
After the hosts' lead swelled to 21 58 seconds into the final 20 minutes, Newark scored six-straight points to cut the lead to 15 with 15:35 on the clock. Ramapo slowed the bubbling momentum, pushing the lead back to 22 (45-23) with 12:31 remaining and stayed comfortably in front over the next few minutes.
 
Back-to-back jumpers from senior Dave Lunsford and junior Tyler Ofray pulled Rutgers-Newark within 15 again, and a triple from junior Mark Thomas made it a 12-point contest (49-37) with a shade more than eight minutes remaining. A stop on the next Ramapo possession and three-pointer for sophomore guard Chase Barneys brought Rutgers within nine, and with 4:46 to play Barneys made a layup to cut the lead to seven (52-45).
 
Unfortunately, Ramapo was able to make the plays it needed down the stretch, scoring six-straight points to go back up 13 which all-but sealed the win.
 
Barneys led the Scarlet Raiders with 21 points, two rebounds and two assists, and Thomas had eight points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Ofray finished with eight points, five rebounds two assists and two steals and Lunsford had six points, six boards, one block and one steal.
 
Newark shot 32.1 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from distance (6-for-18) and 5-for-7 at the line, totaling 32 rebounds, seven steals and three blocked shots.
 
Ramapo grabbed 45 rebounds and dished out 11 assists, shooting 35.8 percent from the field, 4-for-14 from distance and 18-for-25 at the line.
 
In the first, the teams split the first 14 points of the game (7-7), but Ramapo closed the half on a 24-6 run to take a 31-13 lead at the break.
 
Prior to Saturday's NJAC matchup with Rutgers-Camden, Rutgers-Newark will host a 'Family Fun Day' with food, bouncy houses, prizes, giveaways and more. The event is set to begin at 5 p.m., prior to the tip-off of the R-N vs R-C women's game.