Playing shot for shot in the first half, the Lyons and Raiders were separated by a mere point following a Sean Kelly (Providence, RI/Wheeler School) lay up that put Wheaton in front 27-26. Rutgers-Newark then went on a 15-2 run in the final 4:49 of the half to take a commanding 41-29 lead at the break. The Raiders shot an impressive 16-of-31 (.516) from the field, including 5-of-10 (.500) from behind the three-point arc. Wheaton struggled offensively, making only 10-of-30 (.333) from the floor.
Rutgers-Newark maintained a solid lead through the first nine minutes of the second half, but the Lyons began to chip away at the Raider defense. Wheaton scored nine unanswered points in a two-minute span to pull within three points and eventually tied the game at 57-57 on a lay in from senior tri-captain Josean Vega (Pawtucket, RI/St. Raphael's). Vega stole the lead from the Raiders with 36 seconds remaining, but a lay up from tournament MVP Justin Carter (Paterson, NJ/Don Bosco Tech) with 26 ticks remaining forced the overtime period.
Senior guard Rasheen Blackwell (Dover, NJ/Dover), who finished with eight points, nine rebounds and five assists, made 8-of-11 free throws in the overtime period as the Raiders hit 13-of-20 from the charity stripe in the extra period. Named to the All-Tournament team, Blackwell missed all five of his field goal attempts, each from beyond the arc, and hadn't attempted a free throw in regulation.
Vega's team-high 16 points moved him into fourth place on Wheaton's all-time scoring list with 1,251 points, while Kelly's five assists on the night placed him in sole possession of fourth place in the Lyons' record book with 221 career assists. Kelly also scored 12 points, while All-Tournament selection and senior tri-captain Mike Stanton (Lynnfield, MA/Brewster Academy) notched 14 points and collected seven rebounds. Sophomore Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) added 10 points.
Carter led the Scarlet Raiders with a team-high 16 points and five rebounds, while junior Miguel Alves (Livingston, NJ/Livingston), who hit the first two of three free throws to make it 69-68 with 1:12 remaining in overtime, chipped in 12 points. Junior Chinedu Ibeh (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) led Newark with nine rebounds, while sophomore Jermont Horton (Irvington, NJ/Irvington) scored 11 points.
Wheaton opens its home slate on Tuesday, November 23 at Emerson Gymnasium against the Brandeis University Judges. The game is set for a 7:00 p.m. start.
Newspaper Box Score Wheaton College vs Rutgers University-Newark 11/20/04 4:00 p.m. at The Golden Dome, Newark, NJ At The Golden Dome, Newark, NJ RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-NEWARK 74, WHEATON COLLEGE 69 WHEATON COLLEGE (1-1) Josean Vega 6-21 3-4 16; Mike Stanton 4-10 4-4 14; Sean Kelly 5-10 2-2 12; Brian Zukowski 4-10 0-0 10; Brent DiGiovanna 2-6 5-8 9; Eric Johnston 1-4 1-2 4; Mark Ledwell 1-4 0-0 2; Jake Otto 1-1 0-0 2; Justin Brown 0-0 0-0 0; Joe Lee 0-0 0-0 0; Nick Fradiani 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-66 15-20 69. RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-NEWARK (2-0) Justin Carter 5-12 4-7 16; Miguel Alves 2-9 6-7 12; Jermont Horton 5-8 0-0 11; Manny Rios 4-11 0-0 10; Chinedu Ibeh 4-11 1-3 9; Rashen Blackwell 0-5 8-11 8; Phil Slater 2-4 1-2 5; Afolabi Ajumobi 1-1 0-0 2; Boabdul Louison 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 23-63 21-32 74. Wheaton College............... 29 32 8 - 69 Rutgers University-Newark..... 41 20 13 - 74 3-point goals-Wheaton College 6-16 (Brian Zukowski 2-4; Mike Stanton 2-5; Eric Johnston 1-1; Josean Vega 1-4; Sean Kelly 0-2), Rutgers University-Newark 7-23 (Miguel Alves 2-5; Manny Rios 2-8; Justin Carter 2-2; Jermont Horton 1-2; Boabdul Louison 0-1; Rashen Blackwell 0-5). Fouled out--Wheaton College-Mike Stanton; Sean Kelly; Brent DiGiovanna; Mark Ledwell, Rutgers University-Newark-Jermont Horton; Manny Rios. Rebounds-Wheaton College 42 (Brent DiGiovanna 11), Rutgers University-Newark 42 (Rashen Blackwell 9; Chinedu Ibeh 9). Assists-Wheaton College 13 (Sean Kelly 5), Rutgers University-Newark 16 (Rashen Blackwell 5). Total fouls-Wheaton College 27, Rutgers University-Newark 22. A-225