NEWARK, N.J. (February 20, 2016) – Third-seeded Rutgers University-Newark routed sixth-seeded William Paterson University by a final score of 78-52 Saturday night in The Golden Dome Arena in the first round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Men's Basketball Championship Tournament.

Rutgers-Newark (20-6) advances to the NJAC semifinals at second-seeded Stockton University Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The Ospreys earned a bye into the semis, and the winner of Wednesday's contest will advance to face the winner of top-seeded New Jersey City University and fifth-seeded The College of New Jersey next Saturday for the conference title.

The Scarlet Raiders were in control from the opening tip, using a suffocating defense and getting quality contributions from just about every player to take the court. Paterson (13-13) shot just 26.9 percent (18-for-67) from the field and 15.4 percent (4-for-26) from three, while the Scarlet Raiders were able to get quality shots throughout, ending the game at 50.8 percent (31-for-61) from the floor and 46.2 percent (6-for-13) from distance.

Senior forward Jordan McDaniel scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed six rebounds, and senior guard John Snow tallied a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Tyler Ofray made play after play for the R-N, ending the game with just two points, but racking up 11 assists and nine rebounds. After sitting much of the first half with foul trouble, senior forward David Azoroh finished with 11 points and four boards, and spelling Azoroh was junior forward Olumide Onajide who had five points, five boards and two assists. Senior guard Vik Singh was huge off the bench in the first half, drilling three three-pointers and finishing with 11 points, three boards and two assists.

Rutgers-Newark flexed its muscle early, jumping on top by a score of 20-6 8:51 into the game thanks to 10 early points from McDaniel. Paterson was able to finally get it going on the offensive end with a 10-0 run to get within four points (20-16), but two three-pointers from Singh and three points from senior guard Ricky Stephens quickly pushed the lead back to 13 with 3:26 left in the half.

The Pioneers trimmed the margin to 10 thanks to a triple from junior guard Zach Frick, but six points down the stretch from Snow gave Rutgers-Newark a 15-point lead at intermission (37-22).

Senior guard Bright Mensah scored the first two points of the half to pull William Paterson within 13, but that is as close as the Pioneers would get as the Scarlet Raiders delivered the knockout blow early.

A put-back from McDaniel pushed the lead back to 15, and two foul shots from Azoroh made it 41-24 with exactly 18 minutes to play. A McDaniel jumper upped the R-N margin to 19, and after a Paterson bucket, Snow drained a three-pointer to make it 46-26 in favor of the hosts with 15:11 to play.

The lead continued to grow, moving to 26 points after a pair of Azoroh free throws, and McDaniel's final basket of the game put his team up an astonishing 31 points with 10:57 left.

The lead of 31 would be as much as it would get, but Paterson could not get closer than 20 the rest of the way as the Scarlet Raiders rolled into the conference semis and to their 20th win of the season.

The berth in the conference semifinals is the fourth-straight for Rutgers-Newark and the 20 wins mark the third time in four seasons the Scarlet Raiders have achieved that feat. Last year, R-N won 19 games, and this year, the team will be looking to get back to the NJAC title game for the first time since 2012-13.

Stephens finished with five points, five rebounds and two steals for the Scarlet Raiders, and senior guard Morgan Dixon dished out three assists and took a charge in limited action. Freshman forward Mark Thomas had five points, one board and one theft, and sophomore center Dave Lunsford had two points, two rebounds and a blocked shot.

Rutgers-Newark led wire-to-wire for the fourth time during its current six-game winning streak, getting 25 points from the bench and 40 points in the paint. R-N was absolutely dominant on the glass, ending the game with a 50-34 margin, tallying 21 assists (15 turnovers), six steals and three blocked shots.

Mensah finished with 13 points on 4-of-16 shooting and six rebounds, and senior forward Terik Bridgeman had 12 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks and four assists to lead Paterson.

There will be a free fan bus down to Stockton for Wednesday night's NJAC semis and those interested can sign up at The Golden Dome Athletic Center front desk. Links to follow the action for those unable to make the trip will be posted Monday and a full preview will be available at www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com Tuesday.