Box Score

CAMDEN, N.J. (Nov. 21, 2017) – Freshman guard Niall Carpenter (Westampton, NJ/Westampton) scored 16 points to lead three College of New Jersey players in double figures and the Lions placed eight players in the scoring column of a balanced attack as they defeated Rutgers University-Camden, 72-67, here Tuesday night in the New Jersey Athletic Conference men's basketball opener for both teams.
 
The Lions improve to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the NJAC with their sixth straight win over the Scarlet Raptors. They lead the all-time series, 64-18.
 
Rutgers-Camden falls to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the NJAC.
 
Behind the hot hands of junior guard Anthony Harris (Philadelphia, PA/Philadelphia E&T), senior guard Vincent Anfield Jr. (Mount Holly, NJ/Rancocas Valley) and freshman guard Ian McCarthy (Cherry Hill, NJ/Camden Catholic), the Scarlet Raptors led by as many as eight points (23-15) early in the game. Out of those 23 points, Harris tallied seven, while both Anfield and McCarthy added six.
 
The Lions whittled the margin down to 25-24 and took the lead for good, 26-25, on a jumper by sophomore forward Ryan Jensen (Brielle, NJ/Manasquan) with 5:59 remaining in the half. At the break, TCNJ held a 33-30 advantage, with Carpenter scoring eight of those points and Jensen adding seven. Anfield had 11 and Harris eight at the break.
 
Aided by a huge advantage off the boards (40-23) and 10-for-29 shooting from three-point range, the Lions opened up a lead as large as 12 points with just under eight minutes remaining. Back-to-back layups by Carpenter made it a 61-49 game before the Scarlet Raptors rallied. With 21 seconds left, a three-pointer by Harris cut the Lions' lead to 70-67, but that was the closest Rutgers-Camden came at the end. Carpenter's layup with 15 seconds accounted for the final margin.
 
While Carpenter finished with 16 points, Jensen added 12 and junior guard Liam Byrne (Middletown, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) added 11, aided by 3-for-5 shooting from three-point range. Sophomore guard Randy Walko (Somerville, NJ/Somerville) led the Lions with eight rebounds, while senior guard Eric Murdock Jr. (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater) had six points, seven rebounds and a game-high six assists.
 
Harris finished with a game-high 24 points for the Scarlet Raptors, his high scoring output in the four games since he joined the program after two years of junior college ball. Anfield, who played last season at Montclair State University, finished with his Raptor high of 15 points.
 
Freshman guard John Herndon (Philadelphia, PA/West Catholic Prep) led the team with six rebounds.
 
TCNJ shot 24-for-51 (47.1 percent) from the floor, including the 10-for-29 (34.5) from three-point range, and went 14-for-21 (66.7). Rutgers-Camden was 26-for-55 (47.3) from the floor, including 8-for-22 (36.4) from long distance. The Scarlet Raptors shot 7-for-10 (70.0) from the foul line.
 
Rutgers-Camden will return to NJAC action on Wednesday when it plays a 6 p.m. game at Rowan University.