Box Score

NEWARK, N.J. – Senior guard K.J. Brown (Sicklerville, NJ/Living Faith Christian Academy) hit back-to-back three-pointers to lift the Rutgers University-Camden men's basketball team into the lead for good late in the second half and the Scarlet Raptors went on to defeat Rutgers University-Newark, 74-69, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Wednesday night.
 
The victory lifts the Scarlet Raptors to 12-11 overall and 6-10 in the NJAC, keeping a slim mathematical possibility alive that Rutgers-Camden could qualify for the sixth and final conference playoff spot.
 
The Scarlet Raptors' playoff chances took a big hit when New Jersey City University upset nationally-ranked Richard Stockton College Wednesday night. With two games remaining in conference play, Rutgers-Camden is two games back of sixth-place NJCU (8-8 in the conference) and one behind Ramapo College (7-9), with the Raptors' final two games coming against both of those teams. Not only does Rutgers-Camden need to win both of those games, but it needs NJCU to lose against Montclair State Saturday and Ramapo to beat Rutgers-Newark in its final game. If that scenario happens, the three teams would be tied with 8-10 NJAC marks and Rutgers-Camden would own the best head-to-head record among the three teams at 3-1. If the Raptors end in a two-way tie with only NJCU, meaning a split of the season series, the Gothic Knights would hold the next tie-breaker by virtue of beating Stockton, a higher-ranked team than Rutgers-Newark.
 
Newark falls to 15-8 overall and 9-7 in the NJAC, snapping the Scarlet Raiders' three-game winning streak in their series against the Scarlet Raptors. Newark leads the all-time series, 45-35.
 
The Scarlet Raptors trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half (32-17) before fighting back to cut their halftime deficit to 40-36. Midway through the second half, the host team led by eight points, 54-46, before the Raptors mounted another comeback, sparked by consecutive jumpers from senior guard Wyatt Polk (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial), with the first one being a three-pointer.
 
Trailing, 62-53, baskets by freshman forward Abby Bah (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial) and sophomore guard Marcus Taylor (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) sparked a 13-point Raptor run. Brown followed with back-to-back treys, giving the Raptors a 63-62 lead, and senior guard/forward Teon Russell (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson) tacked on a jumper and a foul shot to make it a 66-62 game. Although the Scarlet Raiders cut the gap to 66-65, they never regained the lead.
 
Rutgers-Camden shot 50 percent from the floor (24-for-48) and only made nine turnovers to the Scarlet Raiders' 22, helping the Raptors overcome a 35-18 Newark advantage off the boards.
 
Polk notched a game-high 22 points for Rutgers-Camden, while Taylor scored 15 and senior guard/forward Alex Smart (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek) netted 10. Russell and Brown both scored nine points apiece. Polk added a game-high six steals to tie his Raptor career high.
 
Newark received 17 points from junior forward Jordan McDaniel (Colonia, NJ/Colonia), while junior forward David Azoroh (Ewing, NJ/Ewing) notched 15 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Senior guard Chris Foreman (Union, NJ/Union) netted 12 points.
 
The Scarlet Raptors return to action Saturday for their final home game of the season. They host NJAC rival Ramapo College in a 2 p.m. Senior Day contest. Prior to the game, Rutgers-Camden will celebrate the careers of seniors Brown, Polk, Jason Richardson (Cedarbrook, NJ/Winslow Township), Russell and Smart.