Montclair, NJ - Senior guard Manny Rios nailed a three-pointer from the left corner with 1:40 to play to put Rutgers-Newark in front for good as the Scarlet Raiders posted a 52-49 victory over Montclair State.

Jermont Horton had 20 points and Justin Carter added 17 as the Scarlet Raiders (13-8, 6-6 NJAC) won for the third time in their last four games and gained a split of the season series between the teams. The win avenged a 60-51 loss to MSU at the Golden Dome just nine days ago.

AL HAWKINS (right) had 13 points for Montclair State (12-8, 7-5 NJAC), which led by five a halftime before a cold second-half shooting performance sent the Red Hawks to their second loss in their last three games.

In a game that featured seven ties and seven lead changes, Rios, who had just two points in the game until the final 1:40, took a feed in the corner and drained the long three to put Rutgers-Newark up, 49-48. Carter then hit 1-of-2 free throws to make the lead two points with 49 seconds left. Montclair State had a chance to tie with 34 ticks to go, but Hawkins made only 1-of-2 leaving Montclair a point behind. Carter added two more free throws to give the Scarlet Raiders a 52-49 lead with 19 seconds left.

The Red Hawks had one last chance, but CLIFF SCHAFER's three-point attempt with three seconds left did not go.

Horton grabbed eight rebounds while Chinedu Ibeh had five rebounds.

GIAN PAUL GONZALEZ had 12 points and four rebounds for Montclair State, which managed just 6-of-21 shooting over the final 20 minutes. MICHAEL GLUCK added 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.

Horton scored 14 points in the first half, including the first eight Rutgers-Newark points as the Scarlet Raiders fell behind 28-23 at intermission. But the Scarlet Raiders quickly erased the deficit in the opening three-plus minutes of the second half as Ibeh and Horton each scored on layups to pull Rutgers-Newark with 28-27. Carter then put the Scarlet Raiders in front with a layup at the 16:18 mark.