Box Score
NEWARK, NJ (www.OLDWESTBURYPANTHERS.com) - The quest for the SUNY College at Old Westbury's second consecutive ECAC Metro Region Championship came to an end Wednesday evening when the seventh-seeded Panthers fell 67-44 to the second-seeded Rutgers-Newark Scarlet Raiders. The Panthers conclude the season at 15-13 while the Scarlet Raiders (20-7) advance to semifinal Saturday against sixth-seeded Kean Cougars (15-13)
With the game knotted at 4-all, Rutgers-Newark used a 10-0 run to take command on the game early on with 12:09 showing on the clock.
Omari Trebuse sank a pair of free throws to trim Old Westbury's deficit to 14-6, which ended a 6:32 Panther scoring drought. Trebuse's successful trip to the line sparked an 11-1 run to knot the game at 15 with 5:52 remaining. David Azorah's layup with 5:10 showing on the clock put Rutgers-Newark back up to stop the scoring spree. Rutgers-Newark built up a 24-15 advantage before
Mark Gjonlekaj sank a jumper with 53 seconds left to make it a 24-17 game at the break.
The Panthers got off to a slow start in the second half, missing its first six shots from the field over the opening 4:21 as the Scarlet Raiders used an 11-0 run to grab a 35-17 lead. The Panthers continued to struggle shooting the ball, and combined with the costly turnovers, Old Westbury found themselves down by a game-high 26 points. Rutgers-Newark maintained a double digit lead throughout the remaining 18:27.
Gjonlekaj's 12 points (5-9 FG) led the Panthers for the second consecutive game. Gjonlekaj also nabbed three steals while
Andrew Andries added nine rebounds, and three blocks and
Floyd Leroy chipped in with three steals.
John Snow led all scorers with 17 points to pace Rutgers-Newark's offense. Azorah followed with 12 points and Christian Garcia tallied 10.
Old Westbury finished the night shooting 32.7 percent from the field (16-49), 15.8 percent from three point territory (3-19) and 90 percent from the free throw line (9-10) while Rutgers-Newark knocked down 26.5 percent from the floor (18-68), 22.7 percent from beyond the arc (5-22) and 76.5 percent from the charity stripe (26-34). Rutgers-Newark won the boards battle, 54-30, scoring 19 second chance points off 28 offensive rebounds. Old Westbury allowed 23 points off 22 turnovers.
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