Consolation Game Recap & Box Score: Rutgers-Newark 54, Medgar Evers 43

SCHENECTADY, NY -- Union College won the 25th Annual Sig Makofski Invitational Tournament at the Viniar Athletic Center Saturday with a 54-43 triumph over Southern Maine. Steve Madej was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player and was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammates Drew Desmarais and Drew Goldstein. Southern Maine's Otis Smith (Altamonte Springs, FL) and Greg Whitaker (Presque Isle, ME) were joined on the tourney team with Rutgers-Newark's Deshawn Singleton (Passaic, NJ).

Desmarais had his second double double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Dutchmen while Madej had a team high 13 points, giving him 34 for the tourney. The senior also pulled down seven boards. Joey Lokitis added 11 points and nine rebounds while #Goldstein had 11 points and six assists for Union (6-3).

Smith led the Huskies (3-8) with a double double of his own, 12 rebounds with 11 points. Whtiaker had eight rebounds on the day and 17 in the tourney. Southern Maine got 10 opints from Troy Jellison (Bangor, ME) and outrebounded the Dutchmen, 43-41.

Union led 22-15 in a first half in which the defenses told the story, as Union shot 29% and Southern Maine shot 21% with the teams combining for 15 turnovers. In the second half, the Huskies got as close as three at 31-29 with 14:39 left, but the Dutchmen pulled away and led by as many as 12 twice, as late as 53-41 with 53 seconds remaining. 

Union shot 35% for the day while the Huskies shot 27%. This was Union's first Sig Makofski Tournament Championship since 2005, when the Dutchmen had won their third straight title.

Union-Southern Maine box score

CONSOLATION GAME: RUTGERS-NEWARK 85, MEDGAR EVERS 42

SCHENECTADY, NY -- Deshawn Singleton (Passaic, NJ), who was later named to the Sig Makofski Invitational All-Tournament Team, scored a tourney high 27 points as Rutgers-Newark won the tournament consolation game, 85-42 over Medgar Evers at Union's Viniar Athletic Center Saturday. The Scarlet Knights improved to 9-4 while the Cougars fell to 0-12.

Phil Barnes (Middlesex, NJ) had 11 rebounds and Tim Smith (Mullica Hill, NJ) scored 10 points with four steals for the Scarlet Knights. Kallai Sharpe (Brooklyn, NY) led the Cougars with 15 points and Kris Deriggs (Brooklyn, NY) had six rebounds.

Rutgers-Newark came out strong and scored the first 26 points of the game. Sharpe put the Cougars on the board with 9:56 left in the first half, and the Scarlet Knights had a 43-12 lead at halftime. The largest lead was 49 points at 83-34 with 3:04 remaining in the second half.

With 9:33 remaining in the second half, Rutgers-Newark senior David Cherry (Linden, NJ) scored a three pointer from the corner that gave him 1,001 career points. He became the 12th player in program history to record 1,000 points in a Scarlet Knight career.

The Scarlet Knights had a 50-23 rebounding advantage and shot 49% while holding the Cougars to 33% shooting. It was their second victory over Medgar Evers this season, as they also won on November 15 at home. 

Rutgers-Newark-Medgar Evers box score