Box Score

UNION, N.J. (Feb. 4, 2017) – Junior forward/center Isaac Destin (Woodlynne, NJ/Collingswood) hit two foul shots with two seconds remaining and junior guard Shafeek Taylor (Philadelphia, PA/Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School) notched his third double-double in nine games as a Scarlet Raptor as the Rutgers University-Camden men's basketball team edged Kean University, 77-76, here Saturday afternoon in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game.
 
The game lifts the Raptors out of a tie with Kean at the bottom of the conference standings and into ninth place with a 2-13 NJAC mark. Rutgers-Camden, which swept the season series from Kean, is 5-16 overall.
 

Kean falls to 1-14 in the NJAC and 1-21 overall.
 
The Scarlet Raptors have swept the season series against the Cougars in two of the last three years, but Kean holds a 56-24 lead in the all-time series.
 
Unlike the Raptors' 68-56 win in Camden on Jan. 7, which was decided earlier in the second half, Saturday's game at Kean went down to the wire after Rutgers-Camden rallied from a 40-27 deficit early in the final half. With 57 seconds remaining, Kean senior guard Kevin Grek (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) hit a layup to give his team a 76-73 lead. That margin was paired to 76-75 with 38 seconds remaining on a layup by Raptor junior guard Marcus Taylor (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling).
 
Following a missed layup by the Cougars with 14 seconds remaining, Shafeek Taylor grabbed the rebound, the Raptors missed an attempted trey and Marcus Taylor grabbed that board with six seconds remaining. A Cougar foul was called to send Destin to the foul line with two seconds remaining, and he hit both shots to complete a 13-point, nine-rebound day.
 
Kean had one last attempt at the buzzer, but missed a layup to give the Raptors the hard-fought victory.
 
Rutgers-Camden's rally was sparked by Shafeek Taylor and junior guard Charlie Riccardi (Mullica Hill, NJ/St. Joseph-Hammonton), who scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, in the second half, Shafeek Taylor also notched nine second-half rebounds and the Raptors went 10-for-12 (83.3 percent) from the foul line in the final 20 minutes, led by perfect 4-for-4 shooting from Shafeek Taylor and Destin's game-deciding 2-for-2 performance.
 
The second half was a far cry from the first half, when Kean shot the lights out from three-point range (9-for-14, 64.3) and built a 35-27 halftime advantage. Sophomore guard Jodrell Thompson (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) was 3-for-5 from long range in the first half for the Cougars.
 
Shafeek Taylor finished with 11 rebounds and a career-high 26 points, passing his 24-point performance against Rowan University on Jan. 25. Riccardi notched all 14 of his points in the second half, aided by 4-for-5 shooting from three-point range. In addition to Destin's 13 points and nine rebounds, sophomore guard Elijah Robles (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) collected 12 points and tied his career high of five assists.
 
Marcus Taylor notched nine points, set career highs with eight rebounds and four steals, and tied his career high of seven assists, which was the game-high total.
 
For Kean, sophomore guard Micah Kerr (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) had a game-high 27 points, shooting 9-for-17 from the field, including 1-for-1 from three-point range, and 8-for-8 from the foul line.
 
Watson scored 16 points, sophomore guard Jodrell Thompson (Avenel, NJ/Colonia) netted 12 and Grek added 11 for the Cougars.
 
Rutgers-Camden finished the day shooting 28-for-60 (46.7) from the field, 8-for-22 (36.4) from three-point range and 13-for-17 (76.5) from the foul line. The Raptors held a 36-23 advantage off the boards and both teams made 15 turnovers. Kean shot 28-for-53 (52.8) from the field, 10-for-23 (43.5) from three-point range and 10-for-11 (90.9) from the foul line.
 
Rutgers-Camden hosts the United States Merchant Marine Academy Monday at 7 p.m. in a non-conference game.