Box Score

CAMDEN, N.J. (Jan. 30, 2016) – In a game where one team was fighting to climb out of the cellar in the New Jersey Athletic Conference and the other was trying to stay ahead of them in ninth place, the Rutgers University-Camden and Kean University men's basketball teams battled back and forth all afternoon here Saturday.
 
The contest featured 13 ties and an amazing 29 lead changes, but the Cougars had the one lead change that mattered as they outlasted the Scarlet Raptors, 67-64, for a sweep of the two-game season series.
 
Kean, which snapped a six-game losing streak, improves to 3-15 overall and 3-9 in the NJAC. Rutgers-Camden, which has now lost 10 straight, falls to 2-16 overall and 1-11 in the conference.
 
Kean leads the all-time series, 56-22.
 
The teams swapped leads 14 times in the opening half before Rutgers-Camden held on to a 34-33 lead at the break. The Cougars' biggest lead of the half was seven points (27-20), while the Scarlet Raptors held a pair of early four-point leads (11-7 and 13-9).
 
The second half was more of the same, with both teams holding a three-point lead for their biggest advantage. Rutgers-Camden's three-point bulge came when junior guard Julian Diaz-Smitherman (Pennsauken, NJ/Pennsauken) hit a jumper to make it a 59-56 game. Kean fought back and took a three-point lead, 64-61, on a trey by senior guard Mike Diamond (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg) with 1:03 remaining, but the Raptors answered right back on a trey by senior guard Jonathan Baker-Jernigan (Willingboro, NJ/BCIT-Medford) to force the 13th and final tie of the night, 64-64.
 
With 25 seconds remaining, Diamond was fouled and hit a pair of free throws, giving Kean the lead for good. Sophomore guard Jerry Crismond (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) tacked on the final free throw right near the final buzzer.
 
Crismond finished with 17 points for the Cougars, while Diamond netted 16 and freshman guard Diego Pujols (Newark, NJ/Barringer) added 10 points. Pujols and Crismond tied for game-high honors with four assists apiece.
 
Freshman forward Isaac Destin (Woodlynne, NJ/Collingswood) notched a game-high 18 points for the Raptors, while Baker-Jernigan scored 15 and freshman guard Elijah Robles (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) added 11.
 
Both teams will play an 8 p.m. road NJAC game on Monday night as they make up a contest postponed by the Jan. 23 blizzard. Rutgers-Camden travels to William Paterson University, while Kean visits New Jersey City University.