NEWARK, NJ | In the battle for the top of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) table, it was the Ospreys that came out victorious. The Scarlet Raiders drop just their second NJAC game of the season after falling 54-47. 

Rutgers University-Newark (10-5, 6-2) struggled to get their offense going in tonight's NJAC showdown as they shot just 34% from the floor and scored their lowest total of the season. The number two ranked defense held up by allowing just 54 points, three points below their season average. Quincy Rutherford led the team in scoring with 16 points while Chase Barneys added 10. Jamir Patterson added six points off of the bench while Mike Vick led the team with five assists. 

Stockton University (10-4, 7-1) was led by Kyion Flanders who scored 15 points on 3-of-10 shooting from the floor. Flanders was 9-for-10 from the free-throw line to put him atop his team. Steve Ferebee and Othniel Nyamekye each pulled down six rebounds to lead the team. 

Rutherford got off to a hot start for the Scarlet Raiders, hitting a pair of triples and a layup to put Rutgers-Newark up 8-3 early in the game. The Ospreys found their footing after a rough start and were able to quickly close the gap. With momentum in their corner, Stockton cut the lead down to two and forced Rutgers-Newark to call a timeout.

At the 10:54 mark, Stockton University took their first lead of the game when Steve Ferebee found space in the paint for a layup. After the Ospreys took a three-point lead, Dante Ralph hit a foul-line extended jumper to cut the lead down to one. Jamir Patterson then got inside the paint and put Rutgers-Newark back in the driver's seat with a layup. 

Both teams were sent to the charity stripe often towards the end of the half as neither team wanted to give up their lead. Down one with just seconds left before the half, David Logan's missed shot was corralled by Jordan Salisbury for a buzzer-beating layup to put the Scarlet Raiders up 27-26 at the half. 

Through seven minutes of the second half, neither team was able to put themselves ahead of the other. They continued to match each other on the offensive end while playing tough defense down at the other. Stockton caught fire and went on a 7-0 run over 3:45 minutes which propelled them to a 38-33 lead with 11:56 remaining in the game. 

With three fouls to his name, Chase Barneys came into the game with 11:26 remaining and immediately put an end to the Scarlet Raiders' scoring drought. Barneys wiggled his way inside and cut the lead down to three. Barneys' basket ignited the Scarlet Raiders as Rutherford cashed in from behind the arc to bring his team within two. The Ospreys then fell into a cold spell which prompted a timeout to try and regroup and stall the Scarlet Raiders. 

Rutherford pulled down an offensive rebound with 3:16 left in the game and found the bottom of the net which brought the Scarlet Raiders within one, 46-45. Stockton shutdown the Scarlet Raiders' offense in the final moments of the game while using a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 52-45 with 30.7 seconds left. 

The Ospreys would hang on to win the battle for first in the NJAC at the Golden Dome.

Up next for the Scarlet Raiders is another NJAC bout against Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ on Saturday, January 18 at 3:00 pm.