NEWARK, NJ | Quincy Rutherford became the newest member of the Rutgers University-Newark 1,000-point club after tallying 17 points in the 58-54 win over Kean University tonight at The Golden Dome in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) action.

Rutgers-Newark (12-6, 9-3) returned to the win column tonight in a nail-biter behind Rutherford's 17 points. Joining him on the scoresheet was Abe Kromah (15) and Jamir Paterson (12) while Dante Ralph added seven rebounds on the night. Levi Holton scored eight points for the Scarlet Raiders and led the team with three crucial steals. 

Kean (10-7, 4-7) was led by Jailen Jamison's 14 points while Nate Lyles and Letrell West added 12 and 10, respectively. On the boards, it was Lyles that led the way with 9. 

After an eight-minute battle of trading points, the Cougars went on an 8-0 run to take a 15-7 lead over the Scarlet Raiders with 9:18 to go in the first half. Rutgers-Newark fell behind by as much as eight in the first half before igniting a rally of their own that saw the game get tied up at 24 by a Rutherford three-point bucket. The pace of play returned to the beginning of the game with each team matching each other all the way to the buzzer as the first half ended in a 29-29 stalemate. 

Once again the Scarlet Raiders saw themselves fall behind the Cougars, however, with 13:40 left Rutherford cashed in from behind the arc to put his team in front once again. Kean would, however, grab hold of the lead once more until a long range bucket by Patterson put Rutgers-Newark in the driver's seat, 51-50. With the lead in hand and 3:39 to play, the Scarlet Raider held onto the lead and with just a two-point lead, Kromah and Ralph converted 1-of-2 from the charity stripe each to send the Cougars home with a loss.

Up Next:
The Scarlet Raiders will head south to take on Rutgers-Camden for the second time this season on Saturday.