NEWARK, N.J. (December 15, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team used a late surge to clip visiting Drew University in non-conference action this afternoon in The Golden Dome, 66-62. The victory edges the Scarlet Raiders back over .500 to 6-5 while the Rangers see a four-game winning streak come to an end as they move to 7-2.
 
R-N was led by senior Tyler Ofray who poured in a game-high and season-best 23 points on a very efficient and free-throw heavy afternoon. Ofray went 3-of-6 from the field and an incredible 17-for-18 at the charity stripe. The veteran guard also had team-bests of six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Junior Chase Barneys joined him in double-figures with a strong shooting afternoon of his own, hitting on 6-of-12 attempts from the field including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.
 
The Scarlet Raiders return to action on New Year's Eve for their last contest of 2018 as they host Mount Saint Vincent at 2 p.m.
 
Rutgers-Newark was in trouble late in the game as the home squad found themselves trailing 58-48 with less than eight minutes to play.
 
The Raiders came up with a huge rally just when they needed it, spurred by a very active defense and a balanced attack on the other end.
 
In the last 7:58 of the contest, R-N held Drew to four points on 2-of-12 shooting while forcing seven turnovers.
 
The surge began with three straight lay-ins, one each by Mark Isiofia-Thomas, Barneys, and Ofray. Then off of a well-designed play, Barneys got free on the right wing and drained a 3-pointer to pull the Scarlet Raiders within one at the 3:35 mark.
 
Ofray soon had Rutgers-Newark in front as he got a steal and raced down the other end to draw a foul. The senior calmly sank both of his freebies to give the hosts their first lead since 19:43 remaining in the half.
 
Still, the Rangers responded when Riley Collins got into the paint and put the visitors back in charge with a short floater in the paint with just 1:36 on the clock.
 
That would be Drew's last lead of the afternoon, however, as Ofray nabbed another steal less than 30 seconds later and knocked down two more free throws to send the Raiders in front for good.
 
Ofray would ice the game with five more free throws in the final minute as R-N edged the visitors, 66-62.
 
In a very competitive first half the two sides were deadlocked six times and exchanged the lead on nine different occasions. Neither team led by more than five points with the Scarlet Raiders largest edge coming at 7-3 while the Rangers held a 30-25 advantage. Still, R-N closed the half on a 6-2 spurt to cut its deficit to one heading into the locker rooms.