Newark, NJ| The men's basketball team hosted the first round of the ECAC tournament inside the Golden Dome Wednesday night against Alvernia University. Rutgers-Newark pulled out the victory in convincing fashion winning 70-56 and will move on to face #4 Westminster on Friday, March 6th in the Quarterfinals.

#2 Rutgers University-Newark (16-12) was led by forward, Jamir Patterson, who had a lights-out performance posting a career-high in points scored. He put up 24 on 8-of-11 shooting with nine boards to lead the game while dishing out two assists. Patterson found his groove from beyond the arc, shooing a ridiculous 4-for-5. Quincy Rutherford added two three-pointers of his own on three shots as he finished with 15 points and led the team picking off two passes. Mike Vick led the team in assists with six, and Chase Barneys was 4-10 from the field for 12 points. 

#3 Alvernia University (13-13) had their season come to an end Wednesday night after fighting back from a large deficit to make it a game down the stretch. Malik Green led the way for the Golden Wolves with 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting, going 3-for-7 from three-point range. Green also led the team with eight rebounds and two steals. Nick Youngkin finished the game with 14 points, shooting the same as Patterson from three, 4-5. 

Going into the second half the game was fully in Rutgers-Newark favor as the men held a 36-19 lead, out-rebounding Alvernia 22-14 and it seemed like they would cruise to victory. By the 6:00 minute mark of the second half, the Golden Wolves made it an 11 point game and Alvernia's head coach, Mike Miller, called a timeout to talk strategy. Coming out of the timeout the Scarlet Raiders settled down and quickly went on a 6-2 run completed by a Quincy Rutherford fall away three. 

With just over three minutes remaining Chase Barneys turned the ball over and the Golden Wolves took advantage as Malik Green drilled a three-bomb to make it a 10 point game. That was as close a margin the Golden Wolves would make it. On the very next possession, Jamir Patterson connected with a three of his own which took the wind out of the opposing team, draining out the last few glimmers of hope they had left. Rutgers-Newark defeated Alvernia, winning the contest by 14.

Next up for the Scarlet Raiders will be #4 Westminster as the two teams advance in the ECAC Championship to face off Friday, March 6th in the Quaterfinals. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 PM.