Highlights
 
NEWARK, N.J. (February 4, 2017) – Freshman guard Chase Barneys scored a new career-high and senior forward Nadir Alston picked up a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double to lift the Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team to an important 66-61 New Jersey Athletic Conference win over William Paterson University Saturday night at The Golden Dome.
 
Rutgers-Newark improves to 6-9 in the conference and 7-15 overall, while the Pioneers drop to 6-9 in the conference and 10-12 overall. The Scarlet Raiders and Paterson are both one game behind Stockton University for the final spot in the NJAC playoffs. The top six teams in the league make the postseason tournament.
 
NJAC Standings
 
Barneys eclipsed his previous career-high for the second-straight game, dropping 26 points on 17 shots. He hit 9-of-13 at the line, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out four assists in a sparkling all-around performance. His previous career-best was 24 which he achieved in the team's near-upset of nationally-ranked Ramapo on Wednesday night.
 
Alston had 14 points, 12 rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal in a fine performance as the Scarlet Raiders built a big first-half lead and held on late.
 
After going up 18 after one, Paterson scored the first 13 points of the second half to trim the lead to five (38-33), but a big jumper from sophomore forward Mark Thomas slowed the momentum.
 
A Barneys free throw with 11:31 left put the lead back to 10 (47-37), but Paterson responded with eight of the next 10 points to get within four. Barneys and freshman guard Mike Vick made back-to-back buckets to get the lead back to eight, and a Barneys layup following a steal from freshman forward Landon Gaines made it a 10-point game (55-45) with 4:49 to play.
 
From that point, Rutgers-Newark did what it had to at the line and on the defensive end to lock up the huge conference triumph.
 
The Raiders played a splendid opening half, taking a 38-20 lead after 20 minutes behind 16 points from Barneys and seven points and five rebounds from Alston. The Scarlet Raiders hit six three-pointers and assisted on eight of their 14 made baskets, shooting 42.4 percent from the field and out-rebounding Paterson 23-17.
 
Trailing 12-10 six minutes in, the Scarlet Raiders ran off nine-straight points to open a 19-12 margin. Gaines and Thomas nailed triples to spark the run, and a long ball from Alston with less than seven minutes remaining in the half gave Rutgers its first double-digit lead at 25-14.
 
Two Barneys free throws pushed the lead to 15 with 2:43 to play in the period, Barneys' third three of the half put Newark up 16, and with just one second on the clock Barneys inbounded to a cutting Gaines for a buzzer-beater and an 18-point halftime advantage.
 
Newark shot 41.2 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from three and 17-of-27 at the line, holding a 42-31 edge in rebounds as well. The team totaled six blocks and four steals as Gaines finished with nine points, six rebounds and three steals, and Vick had nine points, five boards, three assists and three blocked shots.
 
Paterson shot 37.9 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from deep and 10-for-15 at the line, and four players had nine or more points.
 
Rutgers-Newark returns to the hardwood Wednesday night with key NJAC game at Stockton. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m.