Box Score

UNION, N.J. (Dec. 5, 2015) – Senior guard Tommy Soulias (Milltown, NJ/Spotswood) scored 25 points to lead four players in double figures as the Kean University men's basketball team outlasted Rutgers University-Camden, 86-80, in a wild New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Saturday afternoon.
 
The victory was the first of the season for the Cougars, who improve to 1-6 overall and 1-2 in the NJAC. Rutgers-Camden falls to 1-5 overall and 1-2 in the conference.
 
Kean built a 44-37 halftime lead and held its seven-point advantage at 53-46 before the Scarlet Raptors rallied back to take a 57-56 lead, aided by three-pointers from senior guard Jonathan Baker-Jernigan (Willingboro, NJ/BCIT-Medford) and junior guard Davis Graham (Cinnaminson, NJ/Doane Academy).
 
After Kean tied the score at 57, the Raptors scored five of the next six points, aided by a Baker-Jernigan trey, to grab a 62-58 advantage. Kean, however, countered with a run of its own and grabbed a 70-69 lead with 4:37 remaining on a jumper by Soulias.
 
Layups by sophomore guard Jerry Crismond (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) and Soulias gave the Cougars a 74-69 lead and Kean stretched its advantage to 79-72 with 1:59 left. The Scarlet Raptors, however, notched back-to-back treys by Baker-Jernigan and Graham to cut the gap to 79-78 before Kean's junior guard Kevin Grek (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) hit his own three-pointer to give the Cougars an 82-78 advantage.
 
The Scarlet Raptors cut that gap to 82-80 on a pair of foul shots by sophomore forward Abby Bah (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial) with 27 seconds remaining, but the Cougars closed out the game with a layup by Crismond and a pair of foul shots by Grek.
 
In addition to 25 points from Soulias, Crismond and Grek scored 16 apiece, with Grek adding five assists. Senior guard Mike Diamond (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg) also added five assists and tied Crismond with a team-high seven rebounds. Freshman guard Diego Pujols (Newark, NJ/Barringer) contributed 13 points to the Cougars' cause.
 
Baker-Jernigan poured in 25 points for the Scarlet Raptors, including a blistering 7-for-14 shooting from three-point range to come within one trey of the single-game program record, which is shared by three players. Graham, meanwhile, notched 17 points, including 5-for-16 shooting from three-point range.
 
Bah scored 11 points and added six rebounds and a game-high three blocked shots, while freshman forward Isaac Destin (Woodlynne, NJ/Collingswood) added 10 points. Senior guard/forward John Tatem (Camden, NJ/Pennsauken Tech) collected a game-high 10 rebounds and  added eight points, while junior guard Julian Diaz-Smitherman (Pennsauken, NJ/Pennsauken) tied Kean's Grek and Diamond with game-high totals of five assists.
 
Kean shot 32-for-57 from the floor (56.1 percent), while Rutgers-Camden went 26-for-61 (42.6). Both teams were hot from three-point range, with the Cougars shooting 38.9 percent (7-for-18) and the Scarlet Raptors shooting 33.3 (12-for-36).
 
Rutgers-Camden held a 35-34 edge off the boards.
 
The Scarlet Raptors return to NJAC action with an 8 p.m. game at Stockton University Wednesday.