Montclair, N.J. (2/4/12) – Senior guard Pedro Burgos (Fort Lee, N.J./Fort Lee) scored 26 of his game-high 30 points in the second half to lead Rutgers University-Newark to an 83-71 road victory over Montclair State University in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game Saturday afternoon at the Panzer Athletic Center

Burgos, who hit the 30-point mark for the third time in his career, scored 16 points, including four of his five 3-pointers, during a key second half run for Rutgers-Newark, which snapped a two-game losing streak in improving its record to 13-9 overall and 6-4 in the conference.

Ahead 42-40 with 14:34 to play, the Scarlet Raiders outscored the Red Hawks 26-11 to take control of the game, holding its biggest lead at 68-51 with 4:58 left in the contest. Freshman forward Christian Garcia (Freehold, N.J./Freehold), who scored 19 points and had eight rebounds in a reserve role, contributed eight of his points during the scoring spree.

Montclair State, which lost a second straight game for the first time this season, never came close down the stretch as its record fell to 16-7 on the season and 6-5 in the NJAC.  Senior forward Andrew August (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan), the Conference’s second leading scorer, led the MSU with 22 points, his 17th 20-plus outing on the season and 10th in his last 11 games.

The first half was tightly contested as the score was separated by just one possession for the first 12:18. Montclair State held the half’s biggest lead at four points on three occasions, the last time at 24-20 with 6:27 remaining. The period also saw seven lead changes and seven ties, the latter at 28-28 with 2:08 left in the period. Rutgers-Newark junior guard Al’Don Muhammad (Irvington, N.J./Queen of Peace), who scored 17 points in the game, hit a 3-point field goal with 58 seconds left on the clock to give the Scarlet Raiders a slim 31-30 advantage at halftime. 

MSU junior forward Ordel Goldson (Hackettstown, N.J./Warren Hills) posted his fifth double-double performance of the season with 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds while freshman guard Dwight Bostic (Roselle, N.J./Abraham Clark) added 13 points in reserve.

Senior forward Jeremiah Rivers (Newark, N.J./St. Anthony’s) also reached double digits for Rutgers-Newark with 10 points.

The loss was key for Montclair State, which now trails both Rutgers-Newark and New Jersey City (6-4) as well as Ramapo and division leader William Paterson in the NJAC North. The top three teams advance to the conference tournament which gets underway on February 18.

Both teams resume play on Wednesday when Montclair State hosts New Jersey City University while Rutgers University-Newark is home to William Paterson University in NJAC contests.