Box Score

CAMDEN, N.J. (Feb. 10, 2016) – Throughout most of the night here Wednesday, the Rutgers University-Camden men's basketball team threw a huge scare into its sister school Rutgers University-Newark, which entered the game challenging for the lead in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
 
The Scarlet Raiders, however, rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit as they came back to edge the Scarlet Raptors, 61-54, to sweep the two-game season series.
 
Newark, which has won three straight games, improves to 17-6 overall and 12-4 in the NJAC, tied for second place in the conference with Stockton University. Both teams are one game behind NJAC-leading New Jersey City University.
 
Rutgers-Camden falls to 3-20 overall and 1-15 in the conference.
 
The Scarlet Raiders lead the all-time series, 47-35, and have won five of the past six games between the teams.
 
After three early lead changes, Rutgers-Camden caught fire in the opening half, going on a 277 run to open up a 32-13 advantage with 3:35 remaining in the half. Newark shaved six points off that deficit by halftime, trailing 36-23. In the opening 20 minutes, senior guard Jonathan Baker-Jernigan (Willingboro, NJ/BCIT-Medford) had eight points for the Raptors, freshman guard Elijah Robles (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) notched seven and sophomore forward/center Abby Bah (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial) grabbed seven rebounds and added five points.
 
Newark, meanwhile, received 12 first-half points from senior forward Jordan McDaniel (Colonia, NJ/Colonia), on his way to a game-high 24 points.
 
With McDaniel scoring 12 points, senior guard Vik Singh (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) netting 11 and sophomore guard Tyler Ofray (Newark, NJ/Church Farm School) adding nine after the break, Rutgers-Newark started to climb back into the game. For Singh and Ofray, every point they scored in the game came during the second half.
 
Midway through the second half, a layup by McDaniel sliced the Raptor lead to 46-44, the closest the Scarlet Raiders had been since an 8-6 deficit. Moments later a foul shot by Ofray made it a 46-45 game. Rutgers-Camden got some brief breathing room on a trey by Baker-Jernigan, but the Scarlet Raiders bounced back to tie the game at 49-49 on back-to-back field goals by senior guard John Snow (Newark, NJ/Montclair Kimberley).
 
The teams were tied at 52-52 and 54-54 before a three-pointer by Singh put the Scarlet Raiders ahead for good, 57-54, with 1:03 remaining. Ofray closed out the game going 4-for-4 from the foul line down the stretch for the final margin.
 
In addition to his 24 points, McDaniel added three steals, four rebounds and two blocked shots. Singh had his 11 points, including 3-for-7 shooting from three-point range, all in the second half, while Ofray's nine-point night was aided by 5-for-6 shooting from the foul line.
 
Bah finished with a double-double of 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the Scarlet Raptors, helping Rutgers-Camden control the boards to the tune of 32-24. It was his second straight double-double and his fifth of the season.
 
Robles finished with a team-high 13 points, while Baker-Jernigan added 12. Senior guard/forward John Tatem (Camden, NJ/Pennsauken Tech) grabbed seven rebounds and dished off a game- and career-high six assists.
 
Both teams return to NJAC action Saturday. Rutgers-Camden plays a 3 p.m. game at Ramapo College, while Rutgers-Newark hosts Rowan University at 8 p.m.