Box Score CAMDEN, N.J. – The College of New Jersey men's basketball team roared back from a nine-point halftime deficit and went on to defeat Rutgers University-Camden, 69-56, here Saturday afternoon in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game.

It was the first NJAC win of the season for the Lions, who improve to 2-6 overall and 1-3 in the conference.

Rutgers-Camden falls to 1-5 and 1-2 with its third straight loss.

After shooting 8-for-27 s in the opening period, TCNJ went 19-for-31 from the floor in the second half to outscore Rutgers-Camden, 47-25, and overcome a 31-22 halftime deficit. Junior Alex Fox (Washington, NJ/Westwood) drained a trio of three-pointers after the intermission to lead the Lions' offense. He finished with a team-high 16 points.

Sophomore Bobby Bracket (Lawrence, NJ/Lawrence) and senior Joe Kane (Cinnaminson, NJ/Holy Cross) each posted double-doubles in the win. Brackett netted 15 points and grabbed 14 boards, while Kane finished with career bests in points with 10 and rebounds with 12.

TCNJ struggled with its shooting touch in the first half, missing all eight three-point attempts. The Lions pushed ahead with an early lead after junior Skyelar Ettin (Princeton, NJ/Princeton) dropped in a bucket as he was fouled. He knocked down the free throw and TCNJ edged ahead 11-10.

The Scarlet Raptors responded with a three-point field goal by junior Alex Smart (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek) and took a 19-13 with just over 10 minutes to play. TCNJ junior guard Darius Griffin, Jr. (Piscataway, NJ/Bishop George Ahr) drained a jumper to pull the Lions within four, but the Raptors' defense held the Lions without a field goal over the next eight minutes of play. A layup by junior Jason Chalmers (Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills) cut the deficit to single digits as the Scarlet Raptors held a 31-22 advantage at the break.

The second half followed a completely different script. With junior guard Emmanuel Matlock (Trenton, NJ/Solebury) controlling the tempo, the Lions came out with purpose after the break. Trailing, 44-39, with 10:47 to play, TCNJ rattled off 13 straight points.

Scarlet Raptor junior guard Jason Richardson (Cedarbrook, NJ/Winslow Township) put an end to the drought by hitting a three-pointer, but Brackett scored on three straight possessions. Rutgers-Camden never got within nine points the remainder of the game.

Chalmers finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Matlock commandeered the offense with seven points and six assists for the Lions.

Junior Teon Russell (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson) led the Scarlet Raptors with 11 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore guard Steven Schneider (Berlin, NJ/Eastern Regional) also canned 11 points. Freshman guard Marcus Taylor (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) added 10 points and tied with Matlock for game-high honors with six assists.

Rutgers-Camden returns to action Thursday when it hosts the College of Faith at 6 p.m.