Christian Garcia has saved two of his best performances for the top competition in the NJAC, with 26 points vs. William Paterson and 28 at Richard Stockton. Rutgers-Newark athletics photo

Life has been so great lately for Rutgers-Newark men’s basketball coach Joe Loughran that the only inconvenience he has experienced over the past four weeks has been one late arrival to work.

At least he had a great excuse. He was caught in Super Bowl media day traffic last Tuesday. You may have heard that a football game took over northern New Jersey and New York recently. It took Loughran 40 minutes after exiting the highway to get to work instead of the usual 10-15 minute trip. Aside from that minor hiccup, Loughran has been having a blast watching his Scarlet Raiders win with wonderful frequency.

Here’s what the national media in town missed. Rutgers-Newark has zoomed to the top of the New Jersey Athletic Conference with a nine-game winning streak, improved defense and some dynamite performances. The Raiders continued their winning ways by beating Richard Stockton, 73-63 Saturday to raise their overall record to 15-5. Stockton was the last team to beat Rutgers-Newark way back on Jan. 4. The win was also significant for Loughran because it was his 200th career win at Rutgers-Newark.

“I don’t put too much into it,” Loughran said of his 200th win. “I guess it shows longevity, but I’ve been fortunate to be here and enjoy my job. I have a supportive staff and an athletic director that has made my job enjoyable. I’ve been fortunate to have lots of good people around me, loyal assistants and ones who left for Division I jobs that still stay in touch with me.”

In beating Richard Stockton, the Scarlet Raiders rode the 3-point shooting of junior guards Chris Foreman and Doze Ikwuegbu – who combined to sink nine of 11 long range bombs – to the victory.  Foreman came off the bench to drop in five of six shots from beyond the arc and finish with 21 points while Ikwuegbu made four of five shots from downtown. The Scarlet Raiders not only stayed in first place in the NJAC race but became the first team to clinch one of six conference championship tournament berths with five games left on the slate. 

Without a senior on its roster, the Scarlet Raiders could be near the top of the conference for a while.

“There’s so much parity in this conference this year that we know we have to be ready to play every time we step on the court,” Loughran said. “In years past, you always felt that the first place team in the conference was pretty solid, but I don’t feel like that yet.”

If the Scarlet Raiders keep improving on defense, then Loughran may feel differently in a few weeks. Rutgers-Newark is seeking a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. This team is probably better offensively than last year’s group, which was stout defensively. Rutgers-Newark is beginning to develop into a strong defensive unit. If the Scarlet Raiders continue improving defensively, they could become scarier than Freddy Krueger.

Before Rutgers-Newark started its winning streak, teams were shooting 45 percent against it, but that percentage has dipped below 40 percent during the streak. In addition, no team has scored more than 70 points against Rutgers-Newark over the last nine games. The Scarlet Raiders escaped New Jersey City with a 51-49 win last week.

Rutgers-Newark’s top scorer is junior John Snow, who averages 16.9 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game. Snow can score from anywhere in the gym. He is a strong finisher around the rim and can produce points in bunches. He has scored at least 20 points eight times this season. With Snow being held to six points against Stockton on Saturday, the Raiders still was able to prevail, which tells you about the depth of this team.

Junior forward Christian Garcia averages 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest. He scored a season-high 28 points in the Scarlet Raiders’ setback to Richard Stockton.

“This is a very good group to coach,” Loughran said. “One of the best parts about this team is that they all are doing well in the classroom from top to bottom and that’s pretty encouraging. I think the two keys for us during our streak have been our defense and the leadership from our juniors.”

Loughran, the winningest men's basketball coach of the NCAA Division III era at Rutgers-Newark, upped his overall record to 200-146.  In his 13th season at Rutgers-Newark, Loughran has helped the program to 11 consecutive winning regular seasons, both of the programs NCAA Division III championship tournament berths (2010 and 2013), eight NJAC championship tournament fields and seven ECAC Metro championship playoff bids.  His teams have twice played in the NJAC title game, falling to Richard Stockton in 2009 and Ramapo in 2013. Prior to Loughran's arrival in the Brick City, Rutgers-Newark had played in one NJAC tournament and had gone to two ECAC Metro playoffs.

Whitfield’s scoring binge

Wilson College senior Vanessa Whitfield is in the middle of a mind-boggling scoring surge. She started the week by scoring a school-record 49 points, handing out seven assists and grabbing six rebounds in a 72-64 win over Valley Forge Christian. It was the ninth-highest total in Division III this season. Whitfield slacked off against St. Elizabeth by finishing with only 41 points in a 77-57 loss. In her last three games, Whitfield is averaging an astounding 40.6 points per game. She scored 32 and grabbed 16 rebounds as Wilson beat Penn State-Berks, 62-58 for its first North East Athletic Conference win of the season. For the season, Whitfield is averaging 24.6 points and 11.2 rebounds. Whitfield has accounted for 57.5 percent of Wilson’s scoring this season. She has eight double-doubles and has scored at least 30 points four times this season. In win over VFCC, sophomore Morgan Wonders recorded a double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds. The 2-11 Phoenix host PSU-Abington Wednesday night.

Fear the Beard and the Crusaders

Alvernia senior David Sloan has reached cult status around the Reading campus. He is one of the most popular student-athletes because of his red beard that he grows every year on Oct. 15. Sloan shaves it at the end of the season. With the way, the Crusaders are playing following Saturday’s 97-82 win over Stevenson, fans will get to see more of Sloan’s beard as Alvernia could be headed for another deep postseason run. He rarely plays, but he brings life and energy to the Crusaders team. He’s affectionately known around campus as “The Beard,” “Lumberjack” and “The Leprechaun.”

“I started growing my beard during my freshman year after I got injured and simply decided to stop shaving,” Sloan said. “By the end of the season, the beard began catching on with the guys on the team and a few people off the court. By sophomore year, the team wanted me to grow it again. By that time, it caught on all across campus. By junior year, everyone knew me as ‘The Beard’ and not necessarily my actual name. It then grew to more than basketball: dressing as a leprechaun for my work in admissions and even having the president of the university know me as ‘The Beard’.”

However, there is more to Sloan than just his beard. He’s essentially one of the more memorable faces of Alvernia. Sloan also works in the admissions office and has made an impact on the lives of prospective students. The students who end up attending Alvernia immediately remember Sloan from their visit. During the summer, he took a trip to Australia where he met former Seton Hall standout from its 1989 NCAA runner-up team Andrew Gaze.

Other than basketball, Sloan also played volleyball, soccer, and was a competitive rifle shooter in high school. He was one of the best rifle shooters in the state of Pennsylvania while he was in high school. Sloan began competitively shooting when he was around 11 years old. From that time until his senior year of high school, Sloan accomplished a lot. Some of the highlights included four trips to the Junior Olympics and countless trips to the National Outdoor Championships. Along with a top ten finish in the Junior Olympics, Slaon accomplished success within the state of Pennsylvania, which produces the most top shooters in the country.

“I shot rifles competitively at paper targets,” Sloan said. “It is a PIAA sport, a NCAA sport, and even an Olympic sport. There were numerous awards earned throughout these matches. I was able to win back-to-back national championships at the outdoor championships in a two-man competition known as Whistler Boy. One year included setting a national record for the match. In the competition, each person had to shoot laying prone, standing up, and kneeling, compiling an individual and team score. My seven year career ended when I came to Alvernia University, as I sought out other opportunities like wanting to play NCAA basketball.”

The Crusaders (14-5 overall) have won six straight games and are rolling after a rocky beginning to the season. In its win over Stevenson, Lamont Clark finished with a season-high 20 points, Kahlil Bennett added 16 points to go with Kirby Turner's 10 markers.  Chris Davis had a stellar line, handing out nine assists with no turnovers and five steals. As a team, Alvernia is super balanced as five players average double figures led by Brian Parker’s 19.3 point per game average. Alvernia will try to extend its streak this week with a pair of road games against Albright and Elizabethtown.

Awesome Antonelli

Lycoming senior Julia Antonelli has enjoyed a phenomenal career and been an impact player for the Warriors since the time she stepped onto the beautiful Williamsport campus. The 5-10 business management major from New Oxford, Pa., recently became the ninth player in the Lycoming women's basketball program's history to reach 1,000 career points. This season, she leads the Warriors in scoring (15.2) and rebounding (9.2).

Antonelli collected her 25th career double-double to lead the Warriors to an 84-67 victory over Widener on Saturday. She stuffed the stat sheet by finishing with 21 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high seven assists. She also added two blocks and steals each.

For one of the few times this season, Antonelli wasn’t the headliner. Her performance would have won her an award for best supporting actress because sophomore Olivia Manges was the leading lady. Magnes had a day to cherish. She made a school-record nine 3-pointers and scored a career-high 32 points. She became the first Warrior to score 30 points in a game since Lyndy LeVan scored 30 against Centenary (N.J.) on Nov. 24, 2002. Her nine 3-pointers smashed the record of six, which had been achieved six times.

“Honestly, that wasn't my goal going into the game, but it feels pretty good (to break the record),” said Manges, who went 9-for-12 from downtown. “My shot had been a little iffy the last few games, but I felt really relaxed and focused (Saturday). Every shot that left my hand felt good.”

Now back to Antonelli, who doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight with her teammates.

Currently, with 1,086 points, Antonelli is first in school history in field goal percentage (.508) and fourth in rebounds (692). She has been a four-year starter and a two-time all-Commonwealth Conference selection.

Her scoring and rebounding averages have risen each year. She probably would have broken through with some really impressive numbers her junior year, but she was injured before the season with a broken foot and it took until about January before she got back to 100 percent. Despite missing a significant chunk of the season, Antonelli still finished with seven double-doubles and led the Warriors to the Commonwealth playoffs for the first time since Lycoming joined the league in 2007-08. She is looking to continue on to graduate school to get a MBA.

“She has been a difference maker from her first day in the program,” Lycoming coach Christen Ditzler said. “She has incredible touch offensively around the basket. She can shoot anywhere from a layup to a 17-footer. Defensively, she is a ballhawk, both on the glass, picking up loose balls and picking off passes. She is, without a doubt, one of the best players we have had in my time here and she is a big reason we have been in the mix for playoff spots in each of the last two years.”

Lycoming’s scoring show was rare. The 84 points were the most for the Warriors since an 89-46 win over Penn College on Nov. 16, 2010. It was the most points against a NCAA opponent since an 88-84 win over SUNY Purchase on Nov. 18, 2006. The win moved the Warriors (9-9 overall, 6-6 Commonwealth) into sole possession of the fifth and final playoff slot with six games remaining in the season.

Cabrini challenged

There comes a point in every season in which every championship contender has to conquer adversity. The second-ranked Cavs faced plenty of adversity last week in close road wins to conference rivals Gwynedd Mercy and Rosemont. Aaron Walton-Moss continued to enhance his candidacy for a national player of the year award with 20 points, 22 rebounds and 13 assists for his second triple double of the season and the eighth of the season in Division III to lead the Cavs to an 80-77 win at the Griffin Center. The rebounds and assists were career highs. Two days later, playing without Walton-Moss, Cabrini rallied from a double-digit second half deficit to edge Rosemont, 78-77. Six players scored at least eight points in the win, led by junior Vinny Walls' 14 points, who also grabbed four rebounds and served up four assists.  Senior Jon Miller added 11 points and three blocked shots. Senior Vernon Robinson made the most of his 14 minutes, tallying a career high 10 points, including seven points in the final 2:21 of the game.  Freshman Deryl Bagwell chipped in with nine points and a team high six rebounds. The Cavs are 18-0.

Steering the Captains’ ship

Tia Perry and Nicole Mitchell guided Christopher Newport to a thrilling 67-64 overtime home win against eighth-ranked York (Pa.) Saturday afternoon in a Capital Athletic Conference classic at the Freeman Center. Christopher Newport extended its home winning streak to 24 straight games, the fifth longest active streak in Division III. The pair combined for 38 points and 19 rebounds to help Christopher Newport win its 11th straight game.

Mitchell helped the Captains remain perfect in 2014 with some outstanding defensive plays down the stretch.

Facing a two-point deficit with 1:38 remaining in the overtime period, Mitchell jumped a passing lane and got Perry to the line for two shots. Then, on the very next inbounds play, Mitchell again leaped in front of a pass to pick up her fifth steal of the game. The theft led to another trip to the free-throw line, where Mitchell knocked down one shot, but missed the second. Fortunately, senior Andrea Hobbs rushed in for the offensive rebound and slipped in a contested layup to put the Captains up by three, 64-61 with 41 seconds remaining. 

Ironically, the first win of the streak was a 75-70 overtime decision at Lynchburg.

One of the highlight’s during the streak was a 116-point eruption against Frostburg State, which was the fourth-most points ever scored in a game by CNU women’s hoops. During that game, Mitchell scored a career-high 38 points, which tied for the ninth best individual scoring effort in program history. The senior from Falls Church, Va., has tallied 1,069 points during a remarkable career. She’s averaging 17.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game this season for the 16-2 Captains. She recorded her third double-double of the season against York (17 points, 10 rebounds).

Mitchell’s running mate, Perry has been just as ruthless with the ball in her hands. The senior psychology major from Tabb, Va., has scored 1,184 points during her splendid time in the blue-and-grey. Perry has scored at least 20 points seven times and posted four double-doubles this season. She just missed her fifth double-double with nine rebounds against York. The 5-9 forward averaged 20.5 points in two wins last week against St. Mary’s and York. For the season, Perry is averaging 17.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.3 steals per outing.

Also providing strong support to Perry and Mitchell are Camry Green, who averages 10.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, and Brandi Holland, who chips in 8.6 points per game and leads the Captains with 52 assists. Jordan Miller has made a team-high 29 3-pointers and scored a career-high 16 points against Roanoke earlier this week.

Here’s hoping there’s a third meeting between Christopher Newport and York this season.

Royal road warriors

Winning on the road in conference play is usually one of the toughest things to do in sports. However, Scranton is making it look easy. The Royals are 4-0 on the road in the Landmark Conference following its 63-54 victory at Juniata. Overall, the Royals are rolling. They have won six straight games to raise their record to 16-3. One of those wins was a 92-82 triumph over Catholic. Two of Scranton’s three losses this season were home overtime setbacks. The other loss was to second-ranked Cabrini back in November.

Scranton rode the shoulders of Ross Danzig (22 points) and Brendan Boken (18 points, 11 rebounds) in its win over Juniata. The Royals are balanced and getting better. Danzig leads Scranton and the Landmark Conference in scoring with a 21.8 point per game average. He has scored at least 20 points 12 times this season, including a 34-point scoring show against Muhlenberg. Boken (15.9 points per game), Tommy Morgan (12.9) and Justin Klingman (11.4) also average double digits for the Royals, who close out their three-game Landmark road trip Wednesday, Feb. 5, against the Merchant Marine Academy at O’Hara Hall in Kings Point, New York, beginning at 7 p.m. MMA beat Scranton earlier this year in overtime and knocked off Catholic last week.

Garnet’s grand pair

It was a great week for Swarthmore’s leading scorers Katie Lytle and Elle Larsen, who reached a pair of significant milestones. Each player averages 16.9 points per game for the 12-8 Garnet, who has a four-game winning streak.

Lytle scored 16 points and grabbed her 1,000th career rebound in leading Swarthmore to a 64-50 triumph over Franklin and Marshall. Lytle finished with her 47th career double-double to end the game with exactly 1,000 rebounds in her illustrious career. She also became the third player in program history after Heather Kile and Kathryn Stockbower to accumulate at least 1,000 career points and 1,000 rebounds. Lytle has scored 1,305 points during her outstanding career.

Lytle wasn’t the only Garnet player to reach a career milestone this week. Larsen became the 10th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point milestone in leading Swarthmore to a surprisingly easy 75-47 road victory over Johns Hopkins. Larsen netted 20 points to help pace Swarthmore. She now has 1,036 points in her career after scoring 19 against F&M on Saturday. Lytle recorded a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds to go along with four assists, while Maggie O'Neil had 13 points, six boards and a blocked shot off the bench in win over Johns Hopkins.

Mid-Atlantic Crossovers

David Langan (19 points, seven rebounds) and Wayne Lennon (14 points and 12 rebounds) led ninth-ranked Wesley to an 83-54 victory over Frostburg State Saturday…It was Wesley’s program-record 12th straight win. Katie O'Rourke scored 20 points as Moravian edged Scranton, 66-65 to end the Royals’ 13-game winning streak. ... Scranton started a new streak thanks to junior forward Meredith Mesaris, who became the 26th player in program history to score 1,000 career points during a 76-52 win against Juniata. ... McKenzie O’Donnell (24 points), Sabrina McLin (21) and Casey Cygan (20) helped LaRoche score a school record 105 points in its win over PSU-Altoona. It was the second time this season LaRoche scored at least 100 points. ... Medaille, behind 22 points from Brittnee Perry, ended LaRoche’s eight-game winning streak and moved into a first-place tie atop the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference with a 76-59 victory on Saturday. ... Jaleesa Lewis scored 12 points to help ninth-ranked FDU-Florham beat Misericordia, 82-54 and improve to 19-0. ... Delaware Valley SID Matt Levy didn’t have to do as much work on his website this week as the Aggie men defeated Wilkes and FDU-Florham by identical 73-57 scores to move into sole possession of first  place in the Freedom Conference. Levy just had to copy and paste the scores. Francis Arnold and Jay Donovan kept Levy busy by scoring 25 points each against Wilkes and FDU-Florham, respectively. Overall, the Aggies (11-8) have won four of six heading into a showdown against DeSales on Wednesday night…Ciara McCullagh and Alyssa Fleming combined for 21 points as Johns Hopkins stung Haverford again, 44-40… Ursinus senior guard Pat Vasturia lit up the night for 20 points, while senior guard Jesse Krasna had 17 points as the Bears defeated Haverford for their first Centennial Conference win of the season, 87-78.

Atlantic Rim-Rockers

William Paterson senior guard Javae King-Gilchrist (26 points, nine rebounds), junior guard Jaques Conceicao (23 points, 13 rebounds) and junior guard Sandy Burgos (21 points) helped the Pioneers claim an 88-75 road win over Rowan…. Kean scored its last 12 points entirely from the free-throw line as the Cougars held on to beat New Jersey City, 65-61…Michael Burton scored 21 points to lead Kean…He averaged 20.5 points in two games last week… Bloochy Magloire and Jonathan Chadwick-Myers combined for 41 points to help the College of Staten Island extend its winning streak to 16 games with a 92-67 victory over Baruch...The Dolphins are 17-2 overall and 11-0 in the CUNYAC… Frankie Drayton scored 26 points, including the go-ahead layup with 3.4 seconds left to give Hunter  a 72-68 win over CCNY.  The Hawks raised their overall record to 10-10 with their third straight victory. ... Francess Henry scored 22 points and had five steals as Baruch handed CSI its first conference loss, 86-58. ... Sophomore Andrea Desvignes has averaged 14.2 points for Farmingdale State during its six-game winning streak. ...  Paced by 23 points from junior Kelly Fraser and a season-high 21 points from freshman Brittany Lee, Mount St. Vincent picked up a 77-70 league victory over Old Westbury. ... Junior Ronje James scored a game-high 24 points to power Frostburg State to a 72-68 victory over Wesley.

Help me

This column will only be as good as your submissions and assistance during the year. Feel free to send any noteworthy items, potential feature ideas, upcoming milestones, point out mistakes, say hello, etc. to me at rob.knox@d3sports.com. Don’t worry about overwhelming my inbox. Now that I am current SID again, the more inbox traffic, the better. Also, follow me on Twitter at @knoxrob1. With over 80 teams to cover between men and women in two regions, it is really helpful if you send me suggestions. Two notes in this column are directly from emails to me.