News Release

Newark, NJ — The Rutgers-Newark men’s basketball team raced to a 41-16 halftime lead and went on to defeat Rutgers-Camden, 83-49, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Saturday.

The Scarlet Raiders’ victory snapped a six-game losing streak against Rutgers-Camden. Prior to
Saturday, the last Rutgers-Newark victory in the series came on Feb. 19, 2000, a 77-64 triumph in
Camden.
The loss was the third straight for Rutgers-Camden, which falls to 2-12 overall and 0-5 in the
NJAC. Newark improves to 9-5 and 2-2.
Freshman forward Jermont Horton (Irvington, NJ/Irvington HS) had 14 points and 13
rebounds to pace the Scarlet Raiders. Junior guard Manny Rios (Newark, NJ/North 13th St.) had 10 of
his game-high 17 points during the Scarlet Raiders’ big first-half run.
Newark went 15-for-27 (55.6 percent) from the floor in each half and finished with a
commanding 46-31 advantage in rebounds. The Scarlet Raptors shot only 5-for-23 (21.7) from the floor in
the first half while falling into their big hole.
Senior forward Ronnie Melendez (West New York, NJ/Memorial) added eight points and
seven rebounds for the Raiders, whose nine wins are one more than the team had in the entire 2002-2003
season.
For the first time this season, the Scarlet Raptors failed to place any player in double-digit
scoring. Freshman guard Dane Nicholson (Pleasantville, NJ/Holy Spirit) paced Rutgers-Camden with
nine points, and junior center William Jarett Mutts (Millville, NJ/Vineland) and junior forward Marco
Morcos (Alexandria, Egypt/St. Joseph of the Palisades, NY) added eight points apiece.
The Scarlet Raptors play a non-conference game Monday night at York College (NY), beginning
at 7 p.m. They return home Saturday, Jan. 24, for a 3 p.m. NJAC game against Kean University.