POMONA, N.J. (January 9, 2019) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team edged Stockton University tonight on the road in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play, 66-61. The Scarlet Raiders improve to 9-6 (2-6 NJAC) while the Ospreys fall to 6-9 (4-4 NJAC).

Rutgers-Newark was led by senior Tyler Ofray who poured in a season-high 26 points on an efficient 8-for-14 (57.1%) shooting from the field including 3-of-6 (50.0%) on 3-point attempts and a perfect 7-for-7 at the charity stripe. Ofray also shared team-high honors of three assists with sophomore Mike Vick.

Junior Chase Barneys also had a big offensive night, scoring 20 points on 7-of-12 (58.3%) shooting including 4-for-8 (50.0%) from beyond the arc. Barneys also chipped in a squad-best seven boards. Senior Mark Isiofia-Thomas rounded out the double-figure scorers with 12 points including a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown.

As a team, R-N shot a fantastic 50.0% from 3-point range with 10 total trifectas.

The Raiders continue their NJAC slate in The Golden Dome on Saturday night with an 8 p.m. matchup against Rowan.

There were two ties and two lead changes early in the first half as the two sides battled for control of the game. Isiofia-Thomas twice knocked down triples to break the early deadlocks and shift momentum in favor of the visitors.

Leading 21-18, Newark attempted to pull away with a 7-0 spurt. Ofray hit a pair of freebies and a jumper before Barneys added a jumper in the paint and freshman Xavier Townes chipped in a free throw to open up a 28-18 advantage at the 2:30 mark.

Still, the Ospreys fought back with the last two buckets of the half and had their deficit down to six as the teams headed into the locker rooms.

The second stanza featured a whopping eight lead changes with just one tie. Between the 16:15 and 7:45 marks, the momentum shifted constantly.

Stockton battled back to take a slim 35-33 lead on a Tariq Baker 3-pointer. That triggered lead changes on three consecutive possessions as Barneys drained a shot from downtown followed by the hosts' Brandon Hamilton before Ofray responded once again for the visitors to restore a 39-38 edge.

Hamilton would strike again for the Ospreys with 11:10 to play but a Barneys jumper and trifecta soon had the Raiders back in front less than one minute later.

The home side retook the lead for its last time on a Keenan Williams Jr. jumper but Ofray responded with yet another triple on Newark's next possession to put the visitors ahead for good with 7:45 on the clock.

Stockton remained within striking distance the rest of the way, trailing by no more than seven points and shaving the Raiders' lead down to one possession with just 14 seconds to go. However, Ofray finally sealed his squad's victory with a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining.