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R-N Schedule I Stats I ECAC First Round Highlights

Wilkes Schedule I Stats

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FREDERICK, Md. (February 28, 2019) – Tomorrow afternoon the Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team heads to Hood University, the no. 1 overall seed, to take on the top-seed in Pod 4 Wilkes University in an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Men's Basketball Championships Quarterfinals matchup at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and military veterans, $2 for students and kids aged 6-12, and free for kids under six.

The Scarlet Raiders (14-12) come into this contest after eking out a tough win in The Golden Dome over the no. 3 seed in Pod 4, Stevenson University, 77-74. Check out the full recap here.

The Colonels (19-9), hailing from the MAC Freedom, used a big second half to get past Brooklyn College in the first round last night, 69-59.

Rutgers-Newark will look for a continued high level of play from its top-three starters. In the victory over Stevenson, junior Chase Barneys racked up a team-high 23 points as he eclipsed 1,000 points for his career, senior Mark Isiofia-Thomas contributed 20 points, and classmate Tyler Ofray added 15 more. The trio combined for a little over 75% of the Raiders' points.

Newark needs similar production from its stars as Wilkes enters the contest averaging 78.9 points per game as fast-paced offense that shoots 45.0% from the field and 35.2% from beyond the arc. Still, a stingy R-N defense could take advantage of a Colonels squad that coughs up the ball 15.4 times per contest.

Wilkes comes into tomorrow with four players averaging double-digit scoring: Rob Pecorelli (16.5 ppg), Mark Mullins (15.9 ppg), Marcus Robinson (15.1 ppg), and Tomy Bowen (14.2 ppg). Robinson is also the team's top passer with 3.6 assists per game while Bowen pulls down a squad-high 7.2 rebounds per contest.

In the end, this will be a battle of strengths as the Scarlet Raiders have one of the toughest defenses in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), holding opponents to just 63.1 points per game, 41.0% shooting from the field, and a dismal 31.3% from downtown.

Last night, Rutgers-Newark struggled until late in the second half to force a high-flying Stevenson offense to play to its pace. It will be up to head coach Joe Loughran and his team to keep the Colonels in check and get the no. 1 seed in Pod 4 to play the Raiders' style of basketball if they want to book a ticket to the ECAC Semifinals.