Box Score CAMDEN, N.J. – Kean University senior guard Michael Burton (Irvington, NJ/South Plainfield) scored 14 of his game-high 26 points in the second half to lift the Cougars over Rutgers University-Camden, 88-66, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference men's basketball game here Saturday afternoon.

The Cougars improve to 8-4 overall and 4-3 in the NJAC, while the Scarlet Raptors fall to 2-11 and 1-6.

Kean leads the all-time series, 53-20, and has won 12 of the last 13 games between the two teams.

In a tight first half, the teams swapped five leads before Kean took a 35-33 halftime lead, aided by Burton's three-pointer with five seconds remaining before halftime. Burton had 12 first-half points for the Cougars, while Rutgers-Camden freshman guard Marcus Taylor (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) scored 15 points in the opening half.

The teams were tied four times early in the second half, the last at 41-41, before the Cougars took the lead for good on a jumper by senior center Xavier Fuller (Carteret, NJ/Carteret). Fuller's shot sparked a 23-9 run for Kean, which hiked its lead to 64-50 midway through the second half.

Kean's biggest lead was 24 points at 88-64.

Burton shot 8-for-13 from the floor, including a blistering 6-for-8 from three-point range, on his way to 26 points. He also was a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line, helping the Cougars shoot 17-for-18 overall from the charity stripe (94.4 percent).

Senior guard Ali Mix (East Orange, NJ/East Orange Campus) collected 17 points for Kean, junior guard J.J. Hladik (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) added 13 points and Fuller scored 12 points. Fuller also added a team-high seven rebounds and tied Mix with a game-high six assists.

Overall, Kean shot 50 percent (30-for-60) from the floor, including 11-for-21 (52.4) from three-point range. Rutgers-Camden, meanwhile, shot 45.6 percent (26-for-57) from the floor and 5-for-15 (33.3) from three-point range. Like Kean, the Scarlet Raptors also had a good day at the foul line, hitting 9-for-11 (81.8).

Taylor tied his career high with 23 points, a mark he originally achieved against Lycoming College Dec. 1. Junior guard/forward Teon Russell (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson) added 17 points and barely missed a double-double, finishing with a game-high nine rebounds.

Junior guard/forward Alex Smart (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek) and sophomore guard/forward John Tatem (Camden, NJ/Pennsauken Tech) collected eight points apiece for the Scarlet Raptors.

Rutgers-Camden hosts Moravian College in a 7:30 p.m. non-conference game Monday.

Kean returns to action Wednesday with an 8 p.m. NJAC contest at Rutgers-Newark.