NEWARK, N.J. — The New Jersey City University men's basketball squad played a tight New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) road game today, Saturday, Jan. 6, but ultimately suffered the 70-63 loss at Rutgers-Newark. NJCU led by three at the half and came within a possession several times in the second half, but was unable to surpass the Scarlet Raiders in the defeat.

The Gothic Knights (4-10, 1-6 NJAC) trailed by six near the midway point of the first half against the Scarlet Raiders (7-7, 3-4 NJAC), but managed to come all the way back in a nine-point swing to take a three-point, 30-27 lead into the break. NJCU used a 9-2 run to swing the momentum initially, thanks in part to five points over that stretch from junior guard Hakeem Wilson (Newark, N.J./North Star Academy). Trailing by one late, senior guard Will Brown III (Jersey City, N.J./Hudson Catholic) sank a three and sophomore guard Bakhi Rogers-Robinson (Orange, N.J./West Caldwell Tech) drained a jumper to put NJCU up by four at 30-26 with 40 seconds until the half. Overall, nine Gothic Knights scored in the first.

Rutgers-Newark retook the lead with 18:54 left in the second and eventually stretched that out to a seven point advantage on several occasions. However, NJCU managed to cut it down to a two-point game a couple of times, including as late as 47-45 with 11:04 to go following a couple of free throws from senior forward Avante Gilbert (Paterson, N.J./International). The Scarlet Raiders got out to a game-high nine-point lead with 4:05 to go, but the Gothic Knights trimmed back down to four two more times, including 64-60 with just 2:04 on the clock. Newark scored five straight to make it an eight-point game once again, but a three from junior guard Jaheim Lewis (Hillside, N.J./Hillside) made it 68-63 with 56 seconds to go. NJCU had a look to make it a two-point game with four seconds left, but could not convert and the Scarlet Raiders hit a pair of foul shots as time expired to finish up the win.

Highlights:
- Lewis, in his third game with the Green and Gold, led the squad with 16 points and a game-high-tying nine rebounds over 34 minutes played.
- Wilson tallied 12 points before fouling out late.
- In just six minutes, guard Quamir Martin (Roselle, N.J./Abraham Clark)e made an impact, scoring seven points on 3-of-4 shooting.
- Gilbert had three blocks to go with six points and two boards.
- Junior forward Ryan Savoy (Lakewood, N.J./Lakewood) finished with a game-high-tying nine rebounds to go with four points, two assists and a block.

Up Next:
The Gothic Knights return to Coach Charlie Brown Court at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC) on Wednesday evening, Jan. 10, for a 7:30 p.m. NJAC clash with Rutgers-Camden. NJCU has defeated the Scarlet Raptors in three straight and 15 times in the last 16 meetings dating back to 2016.