Highlights

NEWARK, N.J. (February 7, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team showed toughness Wednesday night in The Golden Dome, erasing a double-digit second-half-deficit, but the Scarlet Raiders ultimately fell 61-57 to Stockton University in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) showdown.
 
Rutgers-Newark drops to 4-12 in the league and 8-14 overall, while Stockton improves to 8-8 in the NJAC and 14-9 overall. The Scarlet Raiders will look to earn a win in their final road game of the season, facing conference rival Rowan University Saturday in Ewing.
 
Facing a 14-point deficit (38-24) 37 seconds into the second half, junior forward Mark Thomas and the Scarlet Raiders erupted on a 21-5 run to take a 45-43 lead with 10:29 left in the game. Thomas had eight points in the rally and junior guard Tyler Ofray had seven including a triple that gave Rutgers-Newark its first lead of the game (45-43).
 
Stockton answered, taking back the lead with a corner three-pointer, but another three from Ofray put Newark back on top by one (50-49).
 
Five-straight points for junior Kashaun Barnes allowed the guests to regain the lead (54-51), with a red-hot Thomas canning a three-pointer to tie the game at 54 apiece with just 4:15 remaining.
 
The two offenses struggled to score, with Stockton getting 1-of-2 at the line to open a 55-54 margin with 2:29 to go and sinking two more foul shots to go up 57-54 with 18 seconds on the clock. Rutgers-Newark was not able to connect from deep on its next possession, and a despite a late three-pointer from Ofray in the final seconds, the Ospreys were able to escape with the four-point win.
 
Thomas scored a game-high 23 points on 11-for-21 shooting, adding nine rebounds, while Ofray had 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
 
Rutgers-Newark struggled out of the gate as the guests took an 8-2 lead after 10 points and a 14-4 margin after the first 7:08 of game time.
 
Freshman guard Darris Watkins converted a three-point play to trim the Newark deficit to seven, but a 7-0 run for the Ospreys made it a 21-7 game midway through the opening period.
 
Thomas converted back-to-back layups to close a 7-0 Rutgers-Newark run, getting his team with seven points (24-17), but Stockton closed the first half on an 11-5 spurt to take a 35-22 lead into the break.
 
Rutgers-Newark shot 42.1 percent from the field, 4-for-21 from three and 5-for-7 at the line. The Raiders racked up 37 rebounds and seven assists, scoring 30 points in the paint and 11 off turnovers.
 
Stockton shot 29.1 percent from the field and 8-for-21 from distance, but the guests ended with a 30-7 advantage in attempted free throws, making 21. Senior forward Kelvin Tull led the Ospreys with 20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals.