SCHENECTADY, NY – Junior forward Deshawn Singleton (Passaic, NJ/Passaic) netted 12 of his 27 points during a 26-0 explosion to start the game as Rutgers-Newark posted an 85-42 win over Medgar Evers in the consolation game of the Sig Makofski Invitational.
NCAA Box Score & Play-by-Play
Senior forward David Cherry (Linden, NJ/Roselle Catholic HS) became the 11th Rutgers-Newark men's basketball player to reach the 1000-point plateau, scoring seven points in the second half after sitting out the opening period to push his four-year total to 1,005 points.
Rookie guard Greg Moore (Jersey City, NJ/Bayonne) netted all 10 his points and collected four steals as the Raiders constructed a 43-12 halftime lead. Singleton, who was the only Raider named to the all-tournament team, hit seven of 10 shots from the floor for 17 first-half points to outscore the Cougars by himself.
Medgar Evers missed its first dozen shots before junior guard Kallai Sharpe connected on a jumper with 9:54 left in the half to make it 26-2. A free throw by junior guard Tim Smith (Mullica Hill, NJ/Camden Catholic) upped the Raider lead to 31-2 with 7:23 left in the period before the Cougars finally started finding the basket. Smith finished with 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
The Raider lead swelled to 83-34 on a pair of free throws by sophomore forward Kenny Widgeon (Plainfield, NJ/The Hotchkiss School) with 3:04 left. Widgeon worked inside for six points, six rebounds and two assists.
Junior forward Phil Barnes (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) came off the bench to snare a game-high 11 rebounds, dish off three assists and block a shot in just 15 minutes while Cherry saw just a dozen minutes in the contest.
Junior guard Michael DeShields (Magnolia, NJ/Sterling), who along with Moore earned a starting nod for the first time in their bried Raider careers, had season highs of seven points and five rebounds. Junior guard James Johnson (Summit, NJ/Summit) chipped in eight points and a pair of blocked shots.
Sharpe paced the Cougars (0-12) with 15 points while freshman center Kris Deriggs had five of Medgar Evers' nine blocked shots. Deriggs also added six rebounds and five points.
The game was a rematch of the season opener which the Raiders won 110-61 on the first night of the John K. Adams Tip-Off Tournament. Rutgers-Newark jumped out to a 23-2 lead in that contest.
Rutgers-Newark visits NYC College of Technology on Monday for a women's and men's doubleheader. The Raider women (5-6), winners of three in a row, tip off at 5 p.m. with the men's contest following at 7 o'clock.
