Box Score

ALLENTOWN, Penn. (Nov. 18, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Camden men's  basketball team went on a 10-point run late in the first half to take the lead for good and went on to win its first game of the season, 71-59, over SUNY-New Paltz here Saturday in the consolation game of the Scotty Wood Tournament. The two-day event was held at Muhlenberg College.
 
The Scarlet Raptors (1-2) placed four players in double figures, led by junior guard Anthony Harris (Philadelphia, PA/Philadelphia E&T), who scored 16 points, aided by 9-for-10 shooting from the foul line.
 
Harris sparked the Scarlet Raptors' big run with a pair of foul shots, slicing the Hawks' lead from 25-21 to 25-23 late in the opening half. Moments later, senior guard Marcus Taylor (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) nailed a three-pointer to give the Raptors their first lead since 14-12. Rutgers-Camden never surrendered that lead as senior guard Charlie Riccardi (Mullica Hill, NJ/St. Joseph-Hammonton) followed with a trey and senior guard Vincent Anfield Jr. (Mount Holly, NJ/Rancocas Valley) ended the run with a layup, giving the Scarlet Raptors a 31-25 lead. The closest New Paltz came the rest of the way was four points, at 31-27.
 
By halftime, Rutgers-Camden held a 35-27 advantage. The Hawks' closest deficit in the second half was five points, on four occasions, with the last being at 64-59. Rutgers-Camden closed out the game with the last seven points from the foul line, four of them by junior guard Juan Perez-Jones (Trenton, NJ/Pennsbury) and three by Harris.
 
Junior forward Isaac Destin (Woodlynne, NJ/Collingswood) had another big game for the Scarlet Raptors, notching 14 points and five rebounds as he finished the two-day tournament with 30 points and seven boards. In only 51 career games, he hiked his scoring output to 604 points and his career rebounds to 287.
 
Perez-Jones collected 11 points and Riccardi added 10. Taylor and Anfield, who along with Riccardi comprise the Raptors' senior trio (pictured above), added nine and six points, respectively. Taylor led the team with seven rebounds, Harris had a team-high three assists and Riccardi notched a game-high three steals.
 
New Paltz was paced by junior guard/forward Nick Paquette (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West), who scored a game-high 21 points. He shot 7-for-9 from three-point range.
  
The Raptors' Destin and the Hawks' Paquette both earned a berth on the all-tournament team. Misericordia won the title over host Muhlenberg, 104-99, led by tournament MVP Jason Kenny.
 
Rutgers-Camden shot 24-for-65 (.369) from the floor, while New Paltz went 19-for-51 (.373). Although the Hawks held a 41-30 advantage off the boards, they also made 24 turnovers, as opposed to eight by the Raptors.
 
Rutgers-Camden will open its home season, and its New Jersey Athletic Conference schedule, on Tuesday night when it hosts The College of New Jersey at 8 p.m.