Men’s Basketball Struggles at Rutgers-Newark
NEWARK, NJ – The York College men’s basketball team’s struggles continued as they lost to Rutgers-Newark by the final score of 68-45.
The Cardinals main issue the entire game was missed shots as the team only converted 29% from the field. York’s offensive struggles started with 2:29 left in the first half. The Newark-Scarlet Raiders capitalized by scoring seven straight points. Two of the seven points from the Scarlet Raiders came on a thunderous dunk with 1:02 left in the half by forward Phil Barnes. This dunk propelled the Scarlet Raiders to a 26 –15 lead with less than a minute left before half-time. The Scarlet Raiders would extend the lead right before the half when forward David Cherry connected on a three-pointer making the score 29 – 17 at the half.
In the second half, the Cardinals would still struggle offensively. Rutgers-Newark would continue to capitalize scoring easy baskets. The Scarlet Raiders started to pull away and control the game with 9:38 left when Barnes converted on a lay-up and foul shot making the score 47-33. The Cardinals were never a threat because of multiple missed shots resulting in the team only scoring 12 points the rest of the game.
For Rutgers-Newark David Cherry led all scorers with 18 points, while Tim Smith netted 17 points.
Marcel Esonwune (Lagos, Nigeria/ Marist Brothers) added yet another double-double finishing with 18 points and ten boards. It is his third double-double in just seven games played. Also both Jeremiah Fuller (Rosedale, NY/ Forest Hills) and Keith Thornton (Long Island City, NY/ Bayside) contributed with nine points each.
The Cardinals will return to action on January 3, 2009 when they participate in the Christopher Newport Tournament in Newport News, Virginia.
