NJAC Standings
 
GALLOWAY, N.J. (February 8, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team was defeated by New Jersey Athletic Conference rival Stockton University, 67-57, Wednesday night at The Sports Center in Galloway.
 
The Scarlet Raiders drop to 6-10 in the NJAC and 7-16 overall, while the Ospreys move to 8-8 in the NJAC and 13-9 overall. Rutgers-Newark will return to the hardwood Saturday night at 8 p.m. in The Golden Dome against NJAC foe Rowan University. Prior to the game, R-N will honors its seniors as part of the annual Senior Night Celebration.
 
After falling behind by 12 points early in the second half, Rutgers-Newark mounted a comeback to tie things at 48 on the back of a 16-4 run. Five-straight points from sophomore forward Mark Thomas made it a 45-39 game, and moments later, a three-point play from Thomas pulled the Scarlet Raiders within four. Senior forward Nadir Alston and freshman forward Landon Gaines each hit jumpers to tie the game at 48 with just 6:26 left.
 
Stockton answered with seven of the next nine points to go back up five with 4:20 to play, but a pair at the line from Thomas slowed the momentum and trimmed the Osprey edge to back down to three points at the four-minute mark.
 
Stockton answered with four-straight to force a timeout from R-N Head Coach Joe Loughran down seven with 3:07 showing on the scoreboard, and out of that break a jumper from Thomas and 1-of-2 at the line from Alston cut the lead back down to four.
 
Unfortunately, four is as close as Rutgers-Newark could get as Stockton did what it had to down the stretch to secure the NJAC triumph.             
 
Thomas led R-N with a career-high 25 points on 21 shots. The second-year Raider added six rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot to his line, eclipsing his previous career-best of 21 achieved twice in December of this season.
 
Gaines had 15 points and five rebounds, and Alston had five points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots. Freshman guard Chase Barneys chipped in with seven points, six rebounds and two assists, and Rutgers-Newark shot 38 percent from the field, 35 percent from three and 12-for-19 at the line.
 
Stockton shot 36.2 percent from the floor, 31.8 percent from distance and 18-of-20 at the line, ending the game with a 37-35 margin on the glass and a 22-16 advantage in points in the paint. Seven different Ospreys had six points or more in the game. 
 
Early in the action, with the score tied 7-7, Rutgers-Newark went on an 11-3 run featuring three-pointers from Thomas, Barneys and freshman guard Mike Vick to open an 18-10 advantage with 13:20 left in the first half.
 
Stockton countered, tying the score at 20 about four minutes later and outscoring the Raiders 13-7 down the stretch to take a 33-27 edge into intermission.
 
Fans unable to make it to The Golden Dome Saturday night can watch all the action live for FREE at www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com/watch.