WAYNE, N.J. | Rutgers University-Newark shot 48.1% from the floor and scored 47 second-half points to knock off William Paterson University on the road, 79-64, in New Jersey Athletic Conference action on December 11.
Rutgers University-Newark (6-3, 3-1) shot 25-for-52 from the floor and a red hot 54% from the floor in the first half. The Scarlet Raiders made frequent trips to the charity stripe and cashed in on 25 of their 33 attempts.
Chase Barneys led the team with 26 points while
Quincy Rutherford was close behind with 23 and 9 rebounds.
Mike Vick added 14 and dished out a team-high six assists.
William Paterson University (5-3, 2-2) was led by Sean Smith's 14 points while Nasir Fields added 12 points and 9 rebounds. Domenic Mignone collected a team-high three assists in the loss.
After the dust settled in the first half, the Scarlet Raiders took a one-point lead into halftime.
David Logan pushed the Scarlet Raiders' lead out to eight early in the first which was their second-highest lead of the first half. Vick converted his point-after attempt after getting fouled during his layup which was followed up by nearly five minutes of scoreless action by both teams.
Barneys ended the scoring drought when he pulled up and sank a jumper to give the Scarlet Raiders a 9 point lead with 10:46 left in the first. Mignone cut the lead down to one after he hit a three with 2:28 remaining. Free throws down the stretch tied and untied the game until Logan hit 1-of-2 as time expired to send his team into the locker room with the lead.
The Scarlet Raiders opened the second half with a 13-0 run to blow the game open. Rutherford and Barneys found success from three-point distance which helped Rutgers University-Newark extend their lead.
William Paterson was able to cut the lead down to four with 6:19 to go in the game, however,
Darris Watkins converted a layup to spark the Scarlet Raiders' offense. With 2:27 left, Vick found the bottom of the net to give his team a 13 point lead which led to another surge that put the game out of reach for the Pioneers.
The men return to action on Saturday, December 14 when they host New Jersey City University at 8:00 pm in NJAC action.
