NEW YORK, N.Y. (November 17, 2015) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's basketball team earned an 81-60 win over Hunter College in the Scarlet Raider season opener Tuesday night at the Hunter SportsPlex.
 
After a tight first half, Rutgers-Newark created separation with a 10-0 run to open the second, building a 46-34 lead and never looking back.
 
Rutgers-Newark is 1-0, while the Hawks drop to 0-3. The Scarlet Raiders return to action Friday night when they battle Washington & Lee University in the second game of the Gettysburg College Tip-Off Tournament. R-N will play the winner of Gettysburg and Pitt-Bradford Saturday night.
 
R-N was led by sophomore guard Tyler Ofray who poured in a career-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. Ofray also grabbed eight rebounds. Senior forward Jordan McDaniel had 20 points (7-for-13), 12 rebounds and five assists, while senior forward David Azoroh had 16 points, four boards and four helpers. Senior guard John Snow was the fourth Scarlet Raider in double figures, scoring 15 points to go with seven rebounds, shooting a perfect 7-for-7 from the line.
 
The Scarlet raiders shot 49.2 percent (31-for-63) from the floor and converted 54.8 percent in the second half (17-for-31). The Raiders went 5-for-13 from deep and were 14-of-17 (84.3 percent) at the line. R-N scored 46 points in the paint and 22 off turnovers, totaling 15 assists as a team. The Raiders ended the contest with a 41-30 margin on the glass.
 
Hunter shot 50 percent in the first half and 30.8 percent in the second to finish the game at 40.7 percent (22-for-54). The Hawks were 6-for-14 (42.9 percent) from deep and 10-for-17 at the line.
 
Freshman guard Marcus Ashamole and senior guard Gerard Carty combined for 22 points and were the only Hawks in double figures.
 
Ofray led the Raiders in the first half, scoring eight-straight points at one point on the back of two triples and a layup to help R-N to a 28-23 lead with 6:27 remaining. The lead would move to seven after a fast break layup from freshman Mark Thomas (30-23), but the Hawks came back to tie at 34, and Rutgers-Newark eventually took a 36-34 lead into the locker room thanks to a layup from McDaniel.
 
Azoroh and Ofray keyed the game-changing 10-0 run to start the second half. Azoroh tallied three buckets and an assist, with Ofray scoring four points of his own to give the Scarlet Raiders a 46-34 advantage with 16:11 left.
 
Hunter cut the lead to seven several times over the next few minutes, but a three-point play from Snow followed by a stop and two more Snow free throws pushed the edge to 12 (53-41) with 13:48 on the clock.
 
A steal and slam from McDaniel continued to help Rutgers-Newark extend its lead, with an Azoroh put-back making it a 57-41 game with 11:37 left.
 
Hunter fought within 14 once and 15 on another occasion, but the Scarlet Raiders were locked in throughout the second stanza and did not allow the hosts to pose any real threat to their lead, going on top by as many as 24 points after a three-pointer from senior guard Vik Singh.
 
Fans unable to make the trip to Gettysburg College for the tournament should visit www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com later this week for links to follow live stats/video.
 
Fans should also follow @ScarletRaiders on twitter for the latest on Rutgers-Newark men's basketball.