NEWARK, N.J. (November 20, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team dropped its New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) home opener tonight in The Golden Dome to Ramapo College, 61-50. The Scarlet Raiders fall to 2-1 (0-1 NJAC) while the Roadrunners improve to 5-0 (1-0 NJAC).

Rutgers-Newark was led by senior Tyler Ofray who scored 15 points while adding six rebounds and a pair of assists. Classmate Mark Isiofia-Thomas joined him in double-figures with 14 points and made it a double-double with a team-best 11 boards. Junior Chase Barneys rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.

The Raiders return to action next Wednesday November 28 when they host NJAC foe Kean at 8 p.m. in the Brick City.

Ramapo jumped out to an early 9-5 edge but R-N quickly rallied. Sophomore Mike Vick hit a jumper to halve the deficit and spark a 10-0 run that was capped by 3-pointer from classmate Quincy Rutherford.

An Ofray pull-up gave the hosts their largest lead of the half at 19-12 with 9:49 to go before the break.

Still, the Roadrunners fought back and went on an 11-4 surge that knotted the contest at 23-23.

A slicing Isiofia-Thomas finished in the paint to get Newark back in front before he patiently let a defender fly by and hit a mid-range hook shot to send the Raiders into the locker rooms up by a slim 27-25 margin.

In the second half, R-N scored the first basket and maintained a two-possession lead for the next four and a half minutes, capped by a Barneys 3-pointer to make it 36-31.

Still, Ramapo rallied to tie it at 36-36 and build a small 41-38 edge.

A pair of Ofray freebies cut the Raiders' deficit to one, however the Roadrunners seized the momentum with a crucial 8-0 surge to earn their largest lead of the game at 49-40 and force a timeout from the hosts.

After the stoppage, Rutgers-Newark began to chip away from the charity stripe. Barneys and then Rutherford each knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a five-point contest. Following a few missed opportunities at the stripe, it was sophomore Dante Ralph's turn as he hit two to close the gap to 49-46 as Ramapo called a timeout.

The visitors staunched the bleeding and hit one free throw each on two straight trips before a Rob McWilliams pull-up jumper in the paint reestablished a more comfortable 53-46 edge with 3:30 to play.

The Roadrunners salted the game away from there as they pulled away late to seal a 61-50 victory.