ECAC Tournament Central I Bracket

FREDERICK, Md. (March 2, 2019) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team used a big second half to defeat Grove City College in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship Semifinals, 62-51. The Scarlet Raiders (no. 2 in Pod 4) improve to 16-12 while the Wolverines (no. 2 in Pod 1) see their season end at 18-12.

Rutgers-Newark was led by senior Tyler Ofray who poured in 19 points on an efficient 7-for-12 shooting while adding six rebounds and three steals. Junior Chase Barneys joined him in double-digit scoring with 10. Senior Mark Isiofia-Thomas chipped in with a team-best seven boards and eight points. Sophomore Quincy Rutherford and freshman Xavier Townes each contributed eight points off the bench.

The Raiders had a big afternoon on the glass with 11 offensive rebounds while playing excellent defense to severely constrain a high-powered Grove City attack. R-N held the Wolverines to just 32.6% (15-for-46) shooting from the field.

The Scarlet Raiders advance to the ECAC Championship game tomorrow afternoon at 12 p.m.

R-N pulled away late in the second half after six lead changes and three ties. The last time the score was even came at the 8:29 mark when Isaac Williams knotted the game at 44-44, responding to an Ofray trifecta a few possessions earlier.

Still, Isiofia-Thomas drew a foul on the next Raiders possession and hit a pair of free throws that would put Newark up for good and start a crucial 8-0 run. Isiofia-Thomas continued the surge with a fast break dunk off of an Ofray steal before Townes earned his way to the charity stripe and drained both to extend the lead to six. Barneys capped the surge, following up an Isiofia-Thomas miss from long range and converting in the paint to make it 52-44 with 5:31 to play.

Grove City cut the deficit down to six on two freebies but Ofray scored the next four points to push the Scarlet Raiders advantage to 10 with just 3:39 remaining.

The Wolverines would get no closer than seven the rest of the way as Barneys, Ofray, and sophomore Mike Vick combined to ice the contest at the free throw line and seal an 11-point victory.

In the first half, after a few shifts of momentum, Rutgers-Newark looked like they would pull away. Leading 17-14, the Raiders went on an 8-2 spurt four free throws from Townes and lay-ins by Ofray and Rutherford to make it a 25-16 game with 6:24 to play before the half.

Grove City would not back down, however, and turned a 27-18 deficit into a one-point contest as the Wolverines closed the first on a 10-2 run that got them right back in the thick of things.