Box Score

GLASSBORO, NJ – The Rowan University men’s basketball had a 75-69 victory over Neumann University in a nonconference game on Tuesday night.

The Profs improve to 5-7, while the Knights have a 5-6 record.  Rowan guard Rich McNamara (so. Southampton, NJ/Seneca) scored a game-high 22 points and pulled down five rebounds.  Center Dee Benson (so. Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) added 17 points and seven boards.  Guard Jason Rosenberg (so. Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) produced 14 points, eight assists and three steals.  Guard Kendall White (jr. Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley Reg.) contributed with 11 points, while forward Jason Sofman (so. West Milford, NJ/West Milford) grabbed 13 rebounds.  Guard Phil Jackson (so. Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) collected nine points and seven boards off the bench.

For Neumann, guard Patrick O’Connor (sr. Wilmington, DE/St. Elizabeth) registered 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals.  Guard Gerald Bryant (sr. Yeadon, PA/Penn Wood) posted 14 points.  Guard Brenden Harrington (fr. Allentown, PA/William Allen) and forward Mark Blount (so. Philadelphia, PA/William Penn) chipped in with nine and eight points respectively.  Blount also had nine rebounds and six blocked shots.

Rowan was ahead, 47-31 at halftime.  McNamara’s three-pointer at 19:47 in the second period gave the Profs a 19 point advantage (50-31).  Neumann went on a 17-3 run to pull within five (53-48) at 12:41.  O’Connor recorded 10 points, Bryant scored five and guard Reggie Coleman (so. Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic ) added two.  Jackson’s two free throws (11:12) extended the lead to seven (55-48).  Benson’s layup at 9:33 made the score, 57-50.  At 8:27, Bryant hit a three-pointer and a foul shot to cut the deficit to three (57-54).  The Knights came within one (57-56) after a layup by Harrington (7:50).

McNamara made a free throw (5:28) and a layup (5:09) to push the lead to four (60-56).  Harrington (4:55) and Blount (4:27) each had a basket to tie the game at 60.  The score was tied three more times with the final one coming at 1:53 (67-67).  White sunk two foul shots (1:18) and Rosenberg nailed a jumper (:36) to put Rowan up by four (71-67).  Bryant converted two free throws at the 29 second mark to make the score, 71-69.  Rosenberg (:27) and White (:16) each made two foul shots to seal the win.  O’Connor and Bryant tallied 13 and 11 points respectively in the period.  McNamara had nine points for Rowan.

The game was tied (4-4) at 16:54 in the first half.  The Profs had a 14-2 surge to go ahead, 18-6 at 13:20.  McNamara hit two three-pointers, Benson compiled six points and Rosenberg had two.  Rowan was up by 11 (22-11) after Rosenberg’s layup at 10:50.  O’Connor had a basket (10:07) and Bryant nailed a three-pointer (9:42) to trail by six (22-16). 

The Profs answered with a three by White (9:19) and a layup by McNamara (9:03).  After a basket by O’Connor at 8:42, Rowan went on a 12-3 run for an 18 point advantage (39-21).  Jackson and Rosenberg both had four points.  The largest lead of the period was 19 points (47-28) with 27 seconds left following a three-pointer by Jackson.  Coleman’s three with four seconds on the clock made the score, 47-31 at the intermission.  McNamara lead all first half scorers with 13 points and Benson followed with 12.

Rowan returns to action after the New Year when it hosts conference opponent Kean University on Wednesday, January 4 at 8 p.m.