UNION, N.J. (Dec. 8, 2018) – Senior guard Trai Greer hit a layup at the buzzer to help the Rutgers University-Camden men's basketball team outlast Kean University, 70-68, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Saturday afternoon to capture its first win of the season.
 
The Raptors, who built a 17-point second-half lead only to watch the Cougars storm back to tie the game on three occasions, improve to 1-8 overall and 1-4 in the NJAC. Kean falls to 1-8 overall and 0-5 in the conference.
 
After building a 54-37 lead four minutes into the second half, Rutgers-Camden watched Kean rally to tie the game at 59-59, 61-61 and 68-68, with the last tie coming with six seconds remaining in regulation on a dunk by freshman Nate Lyles. With the buzzer clicking down to zero, however, Greer grabbed the rebound off a missed Raptor shot and hit his game-winning layup to lift the Raptors to their victory.
 
Rutgers-Camden has won three of its last five games against Kean, although the Cougars captured both contests last season. Kean now leads the all-time series, 58-25.
 
Kean took an early 14-6 lead before Rutgers-Camden came storming back with a 15-5 run, taking the lead at 21-19 on a three-pointer by Greer. After the Cougars knotted the score at 21-21, Raptor sophomore guard Ian McCarthy was fouled while hitting a three-pointer with 9:02 remaining in the half. He added a free throw for a four-point play, sparking a 12-point Raptor run.
 
By halftime, the Raptors held a 45-33 lead, with McCarthy scoring 12 of their points and Greer adding 10. The Raptors increased their margin to 54-37 early in the second half before the Cougars rallied to force the dramatic ending.
 
McCarthy finished with his first career double-double, notching a game-high 19 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. His rebounds set a career high and his points tied his high, accomplished two other times, including Wednesday night against The College of New Jersey.
 
Greer finished with 18 points and six assists, while junior guard Robbie Brosh had 10 points and his Raptor career highs of four steals and seven assists. The seven assists were a game high for Brosh, pictured above.
 
Micah Kerr, who fouled out late in the game, and Jodrell Thompson both finished with 15 points for Kean. Justin Watson netted notched 12 points, while Jailen Jamison had 13 rebounds, eight steals, eight points and six assists.
 
The Scarlet Raptors shot 24-for-58 from the floor (41.4 percent), while the Cougars were 27-for-61 (44.3). The Raptors hit 11 of 30 three-pointers (36.7), while the Cougars were 9-for-31 (29.0). Kean held a 35-34 edge off the boards.
 
Rutgers-Camden plays its final home game of the calendar year on Monday with a 7 p.m. non-conference contest against Gwynedd Mercy University.