CAMDEN, N.J. (Nov. 13, 2019) – Senior forward Isaac Destin scored a game-high 24 points and junior guard Arian Azemi added 21 points to lead the Rutgers University-Camden men's basketball team to an 82-71 non-conference win over John Jay College of Criminal Justice in its home opener here Wednesday night.
 
The victory lifts the Scarlet Raptors to 2-1, marking the first time since November 2014 that Rutgers-Camden was over .500 after three games.
 
The game was the season opener for the Bloodhounds.
 
After falling behind early, 10-2, Rutgers-Camden went on a 13-4 run, taking its first lead of the game at 15-14 on a layup by Destin midway through the first half. The score was tied at 24-24, 25-25 and 27-27 before the Raptors pulled into the lead before halftime, 30-27, on a three-pointer by junior guard/forward Ian McCarthy. Rutgers-Camden built its lead to 34-29 at the break.
 
John Jay tied the game twice in the second half (38-38 and 40-40), but the Scarlet Raptors took the lead for good on a trey by junior forward Jake Petrik, sparking a 14-4 run which gave Rutgers-Camden its first double-digit lead at 54-44. The Bloodhounds never came closer than six points the rest of the way, while Rutgers-Camden built its lead to 11 points on four occasions, including the final margin.
 
Destin, who was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Player of the Week on Monday, continued his great start to the season with 24 points, shooting 10-for-21 from the floor, eight rebounds, four steals and two assists.
 
Azemi, who had a 10-assist game over the weekend, controlled the floor, scoring 21 points, dishing off five assists, grabbing seven rebounds and adding three steals and one block.
 
McCarthy finished with 13 points and a game-high six assists, while adding six rebounds. Junior guard Tory Whiting shot 3-for-3 from the floor, including one trey, and 5-for-6 from the foul line to finish with 12 points. He added four assists and two steals.
 
Petrik contributed nine points, on 3-for-5 shooting from three-point range.
 
John Jay placed four players in double digits, including senior forward Doug Levy, who had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Senior forward Jason Brower also added 14 points, while leading the Bloodhounds with four assists and adding six rebounds.
 
Sophomore guard Angel Rivera collected 12 points and senior guard Luciano Cruz-Fernandez added 11 for John Jay.
 
Rutgers-Camden shot 27-for-60 (45.0) percent) from the floor, including 10-for-20 (50.0) from three-point range, and added 18-for-23 (78.3) shooting from the foul line. John Jay shot 25-for-55 (45.5) from the floor overall, including 8-for-22 (36.4) from beyond the arc. The Bloodhounds were 13-for-23 (56.5) from the foul line. John Jay held a 37-31 edge off the boards.
 
The Scarlet Raptors are idle until Nov. 23, when they play a 4 p.m. non-conference game at The City College of New York.