Box Score

MONTCLAIR, N.J. – With 5:04 remaining in the first half of its New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Saturday, the Rutgers University-Camden men's basketball team completed an 8-2 run to fight back from a six-point deficit to a 14-14 tie.
 
The game-tying jumper by senior guard/forward Alex Smart (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek) marked the last points the Scarlet Raptors would get the rest of the half.
 
Montclair State University closed out the half with 13 points and went on to hold off a late Scarlet Raptor rally and defeat Rutgers-Camden, 58-53.
 
The Red Hawks improve to 5-7 overall and 2-5 in the NJAC, snapping a two-game losing streak. Montclair State has won four straight games and 14 of its last 15 against Rutgers-Camden. It leads the all-time series, 47-9.
 
The Scarlet Raptors fall to 7-6 overall and 2-5 in the conference.
 
Montclair State's decisive run included four points apiece from senior guard James D'Angelo (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central), who started the streak with a pair of foul shots, and sophomore guard Shaun Russell (Brooklyn, NY/Willingboro, NJ). Freshman guard Jerome Hilton (Jersey City, NJ/Snyder) tacked on a three-point play just before the buzzer to give Montclair State a 27-14 halftime lead.
 
Hilton scored seven points in the opening half for the Red Hawks, while Russell and junior forward Kevin McGorry (Rutherford, NJ/Rutherford) both added six. For the Scarlet Raptors, Smart scored five in the first half, while senior guard/forward Teon Russell (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson) added five.
 
The Red Hawks opened up leads as large as 20 points (45-25) in the second half before Rutgers-Camden came roaring back to make a game of it. With 1:36 remaining, the Raptors' Russell hit a pair of foul shots to slice the gap to 56-49, and 20 seconds later he hit two more free throws, making it a 56-51 game.
 
Moments later, a steal by junior guard Julian Martin (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) led to a layup by Smart, cutting the gap to 56-53 with 59 seconds remaining. After a turnover, the Raptors had the chance to slice the lead even more, but a foul and a pair of missed foul shots led to a defensive rebound by the Red Hawks. Although Rutgers-Camden blocked a pair of Montclair State shots in the following moments, D'Angelo eventually made it to the foul line with eight seconds remaining and clinched the win with a pair of foul shots.
 
The Red Hawks received 16 points from Shaun Russell, while McGorry finished with 10 rebounds. D'Angelo added seven points and four steals.
 
Rutgers-Camden received 15 points from Smart and 13 from Teon Russell. Smart also added a game-high 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
 
Martin added seven points, four assists and four steals.
 
Montclair State out-rebounded Rutgers-Camden, 52-41, as the two teams combined to shoot 35-for-116 from the floor, including only 4-for-31 from three-point range.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to action Monday night with a 6 p.m. non-conference home game against Lehman College.