NEWARK, N.J. (December 5, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team suffered another tough New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) loss, this time in The Golden Dome against visiting William Paterson University, 80-74. The Scarlet Raiders saw a furious, late rally fall just short as they move to 4-3 (1-3 NJAC) while the Pioneers improve to 6-3 (3-1 NJAC).

Rutgers-Newark was led by senior Tyler Ofray who scored 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 night at the free throw line. He also added four rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal. Junior Chase Barneys joined him in double-figures with 15 points and a team-best four dimes.
Sophomore Mike Vick contributed 13 points, three assists, three boards, and a steal while senior Mark Isiofia-Thomas rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points in addition to a squad-high seven caroms.

The Raiders return to action on Saturday when they head to NJCU for another NJAC matchup with tip-off scheduled for 5 p.m.

The first half featured five early ties and five lead changes as the teams battled back-and-forth. The last tie came on a lay-up by Ofray as he knotted the contest at 13-13 just over five minutes into the stanza.

Still, WPU reeled off the next 10 points to open up an advantage that the visitors would not concede for the remainder of the half.

Vick responded with a 3-pointer that made it 23-16 and sparked a quick 7-0 surge that had R-N back within three.

Unfortunately, that's as close as the Raiders would get in the period as the Pioneers built their lead to as many as 14 points.

Trailing 37-24 with 4:46 to go before the break, Rutgers-Newark rallied to cut its deficit to a more manageable margin. Vick began the run once again with a trifecta while Barneys capped the surge with a 3-pointer of his own to send the hosts into the locker room down just 41-34.

The second half followed a similar pattern as William Paterson built its advantage back to 13 points, leading 51-38 with 13:41 remaining before the Scarlet Raiders began chipping away.

A traditional three-point play from Barneys started the rally while a jumper by Isiofia-Thomas had R-N back within eight at the 11:21 mark.

The shifts in momentum continued as the Pioneers regained their 13-point edge, this time with just 6:37 on the clock but the hosts would not go away.

The Scarlet Raiders trailed by double-digits as late as the 4:02 mark before storming back. A Barneys basket in the paint started the surge while back-to-back 3-pointers from Ofray and Barneys sent the crowd into a frenzy as the home squad found itself down just 68-66 with 2:13 left in the game.

In the end, that was as close as Rutgers-Newark would get. William Paterson came up with a couple big buckets in the final two minutes before Sean Smith iced the contest at the charity stripe with six of his side's last eight points.