Newark, NJ  – Senior guard Justin Carter had 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half as Rutgers-Newark edged Montclair State, 77-72, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference men's basketball game in The Golden Dome.

The loss was the second straight for Montclair, which fell to 2-3 overall, 1-2 in the NJAC.

With the Scarlet Raiders clinging to a 69-67 lead with just 2:02 remaining, Carter, who also posted six assists and three steals, went on a personal 8-2 run to ice the contest.  He hit a jumper, a layup and a pair of free throws to up the Rutgers-Newark lead to 75-67 with 34 ticks left.  After a fast break dunk by Red Hawk freshman forward JONATHAN ARTHUR cut the lead to six with 13 second left, Carter dropped in another pair of charity tosses to put the game out of reach with nine seconds remaining.

Junior forward Jermont Horton (Irvington, NJ/Irvington) had 15 points for the Raiders (4-1, NJAC 2-1) while senior center Chinedu Ibeh worked inside for 14 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.  Freshman guard Chadd Barnes added 11 points.

The loss overshadowed another sterling evening for MSU senior forward GIAN PAUL GONZALEZ who muscled inside for a game-high 29 points, hitting 13 of 15 free throws and eight of 11 field goals, while pulling down eight rebounds.  Arthur finished with 21 points for the Red Hawks, who also got a dozen points from junior forward CLIFF SCHAFER.  Freshman point guard ARTHUR ELAM dished out a game-high eight assists while scoring six points and pulling down six rebounds.