NEWARK, NJ | Senior Night was a sit on the edge of your seat thriller inside The Golden Dome. As the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) playoffs loom over head, the teams in the mix are laying everything on the court and tonight, the Scarlet Raiders came up just short after falling 63-59 to Rowan University.

Rutgers-Newark (14-10, 10-7) played a great game Saturday night and senior guard Chase Barneys showed up for the final home game of his career. Barneys found himself in foul trouble early on and struggled to gain minutes. Fortunately for the Scarlet Raiders that did not stop him from connecting on clutch shot opportunities. He finished the game with 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting with two threes and a steal. Quincy Rutherford paced the team with 16 points and eight rebounds while Jordan Salisbury added 11 points in 14 minutes. 

Rowan (13-11, 9-8) sealed the victory after Jerry Price took over the game with his lightning-quick agility and finesse touch at the basket. Price finished with 23 points, going 3-of-6 from behind the arc and connected on several and one opportunities. 

The Scarlet Raiders were in the drivers seat for the first half and it looked as they were on their way to another historic defensive night as the Profs had just 9 points with seven minutes left in the first half. The Profs would eventually find their shot which allowed them to make their way back into the game. As the opening stanza began to draw to a close, the Scarlet Raiders found themselves in foul trouble which sent the Profs to the charity stripe where they were able to cut the lead down further. 

Rowan used their run late in the first half to tie the game up at 38 with 12:13 remaining. From there both teams took turns flirting with the lead but gave it right back up to the other as there were 11 lead changes in this game. With under a minute to go, Jerry Price sliced his way to the basket to give his team a one-point lead. That basket would prove to be enough as over the final 35 seconds the Scarlet Raiders were unable to find the bottom of the basket.

The Scarlet Raiders fell victim to the whistle as they were called for 27 fouls compared to 15 fouls for The Profs. This, plus timely baskets for Rowan, proved to be the difference. 

Rutgers University-Newark will take on the top team in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) as they face Stockton Wednesday night in Pomona, NJ in the final game of the season with home court advantage at stake.