Box Score UNION, NJ – The Rowan University men's basketball team won 83-64 at conference opponent Kean University on Thursday night.
The Profs had four players that scored in double figures. Guard Phil Jackson (sr. Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape) amassed a career-high 27 points off the bench. He was 10 for 16 from the floor with seven three-pointers. Forward Jason Sofman (sr. West Milford, NJ/West Milford) had a career-mark with 20 points and he grabbed nine rebounds.
Guard Kris O'Connor (so. Mount Laurel, NJ/Paul VI) recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Rich McNamara (sr. Southampton, NJ/Seneca) pulled down 13 boards and chipped in with 11 points. Guard Jason Rosenberg (sr. Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) collected eight assists while McNamara registered seven.
Rowan improves to 10-11 overall and 5-9 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. Kean has an 11-9 record with a 7-6 conference mark.
Center Xavier Fuller (sr. Carteret, NJ/Carteret) led the Cougars with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Ali Mix (sr. East Orange, NJ/East Orange Campus) contributed with 15 points. Guard Mike Burton (sr. Irvington, NJ/South Plainfield) totaled 10 points and 11 boards.
Jackson hit a three at 16:56 in the second half, which made the score 45-40. Fuller followed with a layup (16:12) and Kean trailed 45-42. Rowan had a 12-point advantage (56-44) after nine straight points that ended at 11:50. Jackson produced two three-pointers, McNamara had a basket and Sofman made a free throw. Sofman's layup put the Profs up by 16 (66-50) with 7:37 on the clock. Kean was down by 13 points (68-55) after a layup by Mix at 5:30. Jackson had another three (5:16) and Sofman added a layup (3:49) to lead 73-55. Fuller had a layup (1:39) and the Cougars trailed 75-61. Rowan ended the game with an 8-3 run. Sofman scored a basket, O'Connor made three foul shots and Jackson sank his last three-pointer at the 17-second mark. Fuller had a three with six seconds left. Jackson registered 19 points in the final stanza.
In the first half, Mix made two foul shots (13:10) that tied the score at 12. Rowan followed with a 7-0 spurt to lead 19-12 with 10:24 remaining. Rosenberg and Sofman each had a layup while O'Connor nailed a three-pointer. McNamara sank a three at 6:08 for a six-point advantage (26-20). With 4:50 left, Jackson's three put the Profs up 31-24. Kean had back-to-back three-pointers by forward Tim Steward (jr. Dayton, OH/West Carrollton) (4:34) and Burton (4:00), which cut the deficit to one (31-30). Jackson followed with a three (3:36) and Sofman had a basket (2:58) to lead 36-30. McNamara hit a jumper (1:46) and Fuller (0:08) scored with a layup to end the period with Rowan ahead 38-34.
Next, Rowan hosts Ramapo College on Saturday, February 8 at 8 p.m.
