NEWARK, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Rutgers-Newark limited the  New Jersey City University men's basketball team to just 16 first-half points and held the Gothic Knights nearly 32 points below their season scoring average of 77.6 points per game as the Scarlet Raiders upended NJCU 71-46 in New Jersey Athletic Conference action on December 14 at The Golden Dome.

Rutgers-Newark (7-3, 4-1 NJAC) led by 19 at the half, 35-16, and were never challenged in the second half as the Raiders moved one game behind Montclair State and Stockton (5-0) in the league standings at the end of the 2019 portion of the conference slate. NJCU, the league's preseason favorite, fell below .500 at 4-5 (2-3 NJAC).

Newark shot 9-of-19 from three-point range (47.4 percent), 26-of-54 from the field (48.1 percent) and scored 25 points off 25 NJCU turnovers. 

After NJCU led 5-2 just 3:35 into the game, the Raiders scored the next 12 points to claim the lead for good and held NJCU without points for a stretch of 7:29. The lead reached double figures (22-12) with 6:25 to play in the opening half and remained there for the rest of the night. RUN closed the first half on an 11-2 outburst over the final 3:53. The Raiders largest lead was 29 twice in the final 4:15 of the game.

Junior guard Quincy Rutherford (Kearny, N.J.) was the player of the game for the Raiders, knocking down 9-of-12 shots, including a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range and finished with a game-high 24 points in 30 minutes. He added five steals.

Senior guard Chase Barneys (Woodbridge, N.J.) added 16 points (6-13 FG) and seven assists in 33 minutes while junior guard Mike Vick (Maplewood, N.J.) dished eight assists—six in the first half—finishing with five points. Junior guard David Logan (Elmwood Park, N.J.) added eight points.

For NJCU, 27 of its 46 points came from its bench on a night where its starters were ineffective and no players reached double figures. Rookie guard Nizair Scott was NJCU's top scorer with nine points off the bench in 11 minutes on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting—all from three-point range. Two-time NJAC Player of the Year and two-time All-American senior power forward Sam Toney was held to just one point and six rebounds in 19 minutes and attempted only two shots all game (0-2 FG). 

NOTABLES:

• Series: 87th meeting. NJCU leads all-time series, 68-19. R-N snapped an eight-game losing streak to NJCU, winning for the first time since January 21, 2015—a 73-64 victory in Newark.  
• Toney upped his career scoring totals to 1,495 points—five away from becoming the ninth Gothic Knight to score 1,500 career points. 
• NJCU was held to fewer than 50 points for the first time since losing to Montclair State, 48-46, on January 4, 2017 in Montclair, N.J. That was also the last time NJCU scored 16 or fewer first half points when they trailed 23-14 at the half.
• The 46 points were a Raider opponent season low and were the fewest allowed by Rutgers-Newark since holding FDU-Florham 39 in a 58-39 outcome on January 7, 2019.

UP NEXT:

• NJCU will hit the road on Tuesday, December 17 at 8 p.m. to face Yeshiva University, one of the better teams in the Atlantic Region. The Maccabees are 9-1 overall and winners of nine in a row with a game on December 15 preceding the matchup with NJCU. It will be the first meeting between the schools since March 6, 1993—a 76-62 win in the ECAC Quarterfinals. The schools first met in the 1935-36 season. NJCU leads the all-time series, 11-1, and has won the last nine meetings. Yeshiva last defeated NJCU during the 1938-39 season, 28-21, when the Knights were known as Jersey City State Teachers College.

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