PISCATAWAY, N.J. (November 13, 2015) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team gave DI Rutgers all it could handle, but the Scarlet Knights pulled away midway through the second half to earn a 72-59 win Friday night at The RAC in Piscataway.
 
The Scarlet Raiders played the game as an exhibition and will officially begin their 2015-16 season at Hunter College on Tuesday night. Rutgers – of the Big 10 Conference – moves to 1-0.
 
Rutgers-Newark played excellent basketball for the opening 20 minutes, holding a lead for the large portion of the first half and went to the locker room tied, 33-33.
 
The Scarlet Raider defense was the story in the early going, holding the Scarlet Knights to 38 percent shooting over the first nine-plus minutes of action. R-N was able to build 15-10 lead over that span as senior forward Jordan McDaniel hit three of his first five attempts from the field, including a pair from deep.
 
The hosts hit their first triple of the game 8:46 in, but back-to-back buckets from McDaniel helped R-N keep the margin at four (19-15), and next time down, the Scarlet Knights switched to a zone defense to slow down the Newark offense and McDaniel in particular.
 
Rutgers came back to tie at 19 and 21, and took its first lead since 4-2 at 23-21, but a three-pointer from senior guard John Snow pushed the Raiders back in front. Freshman forward Mark Thomasbattled for an offensive rebound next trip down before finding Snow for a second-chance bucket that resulted in a 26-23 Newark advantage.
 
A 10-4 run from Rutgers gave it a 33-30 lead late in the first, but a transition layup from senior guardVik Singh pulled R-N within one, and Singh struck again with a steal and converted 1-of-2 at the line to tie things at the half.
 
"I saw some really good things tonight," said Head Coach Joe Loughran after the game. "We competed really hard in the first half, executed and our guys made plays."
 
Rutgers came out with five-straight points to open the second, but a monster dunk from McDaniel pulled R-N back within three and breifly slowed the momentum. However, on the other end, the Scarlet Knights found a rhythm, outscoring the Scarlet Raiders 14-6 to open the second, taking a 47-39 edge with 15:29 left.
 
The lead expanded to 10 at 53-43 at the nine-minute mark, and 4-0 mini-run for Rutgers forced Scarlet Raider Head Coach Joe Loughran to use a timeout with 8:21 remaining and the scoreboard showing 57-43 in favor of the hosts.
 
Rutgers was able to continue extending its lead as the Scarlet Raiders struggled to match the Knights' size underneath - the hosts ended with a 45-27 margin on the glass and a 22-10 margin in second-chance points.
 
Senior center David Azoroh had an excellent game overall and finished strong for Newark, scoring nine-straight points late to end with 17 points on just 10 shots (6-for-10) and five rebounds.
 
"I thought we finished the game well, but for a chunk of that second half  we got a little tired and we struggled with our communication," added Loughran. "When things start to go south for us, we need to keep our heads and continue to do the little things that made the first half successful."
 
McDaniel ended with 18 points (7-for-13), two blocks and two steals in an excellent performance for the returning all-conference performer. Snow had 14 points and a team-high six rebounds.
 
The Scarlet Raiders had eight assists and just 14 turnovers, racking up seven total steals. They shot 20-for-54 (37 percent) from the field and 30 percent (3-for-10) from deep, also going 16-for-25 (64 percent) at the line.
 
Rutgers shot 50 percent (30-for-60) from the floor, 5-for-18 from deep and 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) at the line. The Scarlet Knights were led by 18 points on 8-of-18 shooting, 11 rebounds and five steals from sophomore guard Mike Williams, and 13 points (6-for-8), four rebounds and two blocked shots from junior forward DeShawn Freeman.
 
NOTE: Game statistics do not count for Rutgers-Newark season stats in 2015-16