Box Score

NEWARK, NJ – The Rutgers-Newark men’s basketball team defeated Rowan University, 62-59 in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) game on Saturday night.

The Scarlet Raiders improve to 10-6 overall and 3-2 in the conference.  The Profs have an 8-8 record with a 2-3 NJAC mark.  Rutgers-Newark was led by forward Hussein Abdelmaksoud (jr. West New York, NJ/Memorial) with 27 points and 15 rebounds.  Forwards Christian Garcia (fr. Freehold, NJ/Freehold) and Al’Don Muhammad (jr. Irvington, NJ/Queen of Peace) registered eight points and six boards apiece.  Guards Doze Ikwuegbu (fr. Union, NJ/Union) and Pedro Burgos (sr. Fort Lee, NJ/Fort Lee) each chipped in with seven points.

For Rowan, guard Rich McNamara (so. Southampton, NJ/Seneca) totaled 16 points, six rebounds and four steals.  Guard Kendall White (jr. Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley Reg.) added 13 points.  Center Dee Benson (so. Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) and guard Phil Jackson (so. Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) both scored seven points.  Guard Jason Rosenberg (so. Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) picked up seven assists.

The Profs were ahead, 31-27 at halftime.  Forward Jason Sofman’s (so. West Milford, NJ/West Milford) jumper at 19:33 in the second period made the score, 33-27.  The Scarlet Raiders scored the next five points to pull within one (33-32).  Muhammad hit two free throws (19:19) and Abdelmaksoud converted a three-point play (18:35).  Rowan answered by posting the next five points to go up, 38-32 at 16:53.  Jackson and Sofman each had a basket and White sunk a foul shot.  Rowan had a 40-35 advantage at 15:43.  Burgos (15:16) and Abdelmaksoud (14:26) both made two free throws to cut the deficit to one (40-39).  Abdelmaksoud’s layup at 13:39 put Rutgers-Newark on top, 41-40.

Rosenberg’s basket at 7:19 tied the game (49-49).  Garcia (7:08) and Abdelmaksoud (6:18) each had a layup and the score was 53-49.  The Profs trailed, 60-55 with 3:58 remaining.  Benson made a layup (3:13) and McNamara nailed two foul shots (:22) to bring Rowan within one (60-59).  Muhammad sealed the win with two free throws at the 18 second mark.  Abdelmaksoud totaled 13 points in the second stanza.

In the first half, the score was tied (11-11) following a foul shot by Benson at 12:53.  White converted two free throws (12:41) and a three-pointer (11:45) to give the Profs a 16-11 lead.  Burgos hit a jumper at 11:29 to cut the deficit to three (16-13).  Rowan scored six straight points to make the score, 22-13 at 8:58.  Benson, McNamara and Rosenberg each had a basket.  Abdelmaksoud had a tip-in at 6:24 to bring Rutgers-Newark within five (24-19).

Jackson hit a three-pointer (6:06) and guard Matt Whitworth (so. Ocean City, NJ/Ocean City) made a jumper (5:46) to give Rowan a 10 point lead (29-19).  The Profs were up, 31-21 with 1:37 on the clock.  The Scarlet Raiders closed out the period with a 6-0 run to come within four (31-27) at the intermission.  Ikwuegbu (:53), Garcia (:36) and Abdelmaksoud (:11) all had one basket.  Abdelmaksoud totaled 14 points and 11 boards in the first half.  White had 12 points for the Profs.

Rowan hosts Richard Stockton College in an NJAC game on Wednesday, January 18 at 8 p.m.