WAYNE, N.J. (January 30, 2019) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball dropped an 83-76 decision in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play this evening at William Paterson University. The Scarlet Raiders fall to 11-10 (4-10 NJAC) while the Pioneers improve to 12-9 (7-7 NJAC).

Rutgers-Newark was led by junior Chase Barneys who scored 18 points while shooting 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. Senior Mark Isiofia-Thomas added 15 points and a team-high four steals. Classmate Tyler Ofray rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points and squad-bests of nine rebounds and seven assists. Sophomore Mike Vick contributed nine points on an efficient 3-of-4 (75.0%) from the field.

The Raiders stay on the road for another league matchup on Saturday as they travel to Rutgers-Camden for a 3 p.m. start.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair that featured six lead changes and three ties.

William Paterson opened the game on an 8-2 run before Rutgers-Newark came right back with six straight points, five from Isiofia-Thomas, to knot the scorer at 8-8.

The Pioneers then managed to take a 17-10 advantage and consistently held around a five-point edge until another surge from the visitors.

The Scarlet Raiders, trailing 23-18, scored nine consecutive points as part of a 14-3 run that flipped the game on its head and had R-N leading 32-26 with 4:48 remaining in the period. Five different Raiders contributed to the surge as Ofray began the run with a lay-up and sophomore Quincy Rutherford capped it with a 3-pointer.

Despite maintaining a 36-31 lead following a lay-up from rookie Xavier Townes, it was the home team's turn to flip the script in the final minutes of the first half.

WPU closed the stanza on an 11-3 run that had the hosts up 42-39 headed into the locker rooms.

In the second half, Rutgers-Newark would earn slim leads on two different occasions, but they would prove to be fleeting as the home squad eventually pulled away.

Down 50-46, Vick quickly helped close that gap with a traditional three-point play that had the visitors within one. A Barneys basket in the paint put the Raiders back in front at the 15:15 mark.

Following a Sean Smith jumper that had William Paterson in the lead again, sophomore Dante Ralph converted inside and freshman BJ Honis added a lay-in the made it 55-52 in favor of R-N with 13:45 on the clock. Unfortunately, that would be the visitors' last, and largest, advantage for the remainder of the contest.

Sean Smith drilled a trifecta just 11 seconds later to tie the game and spark a 7-0 spurt that had the hosts leading by four.

While the Scarlet Raiders managed to rally and create a 59-59 deadlock on buckets from Honis and Rutherford, that would prove to be the final tie of the night.

An 8-2 Pioneers' run created a six-point gap and a lead that would not be relinquished in the last 5:06 of the game. A lay-up by Ofray with 24 seconds remaining cut the deficit to 78-74 but WPU would ice the contest away at the charity stripe.