GLASSBORO, N.J. (Nov. 26, 2019) – The Rowan University men's basketball team scored the first eight points of the game, weathered a strong Rutgers University-Camden comeback in the first half and went on to defeat the Scarlet Raptors, 81-69, in the New Jersey Athletic Conference opener for both teams here Tuesday night.
 
Rowan improves to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the NJAC, while Rutgers-Camden falls to 3-2 and 0-1. It was the Profs' eighth straight win over the Scarlet Raptors, extending their lead to 97-32 in the all-time series.
 
The Profs built a quick 19-8 lead in the game, aided by nine points from senior forward Austin Kearney. They extended their margin to 22-10 before Rutgers-Camden came roaring back, scoring 13 of the next 16 points to make it a 25-23 game. Junior guard Arian Azemi and senior forward Isaac Destin scored four points apiece in that run, while junior guard Tory Whiting added a three-pointer and sophomore guard Keysean Simmonds started the run with a jumper.
 
Following a timeout, however, Rowan countered with an eight-point run to stretch its lead back to double digits, 33-23. Senior guard Maliq Sanders scored four of those points.
 
The Profs led, 43-36, at halftime, but Rutgers-Camden chopped the lead back down to two points to open the second half, collecting a trey from sophomore forward Jake Petrik and a layup from Whiting. The Raptors cut their deficit to two points on three other occasions in the second half, but couldn't quite catch up. Rowan eventually opened up leads as big as 17 points (74-57).
 
 
The Profs placed four players in double figures, led by 16 points from Kearney and 15 from senior forward Jonathan Hevalow. Sophomore guard Connor Dickerson added a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while senior guard Jerry Price added 12 points.
 
Azemi paced the Scarlet Raptors with a game-high 29 points, shooting 12-for-19 from the floor (2-for-3 from three-point range) and 3-for-8 from the foul line. Petrik added 13 points and Destin collected 12 points, just missing his own double-double with nine rebounds.
 
Rowan shot 30-for-63 (47.6 percent) from the floor, while Rutgers-Camden went 28-for-61 (45.9). The Profs held a 39-37 edge off the boards and forced 20 Raptor turnovers, while committing 14.
 
The Scarlet Raptors return to action Wednesday, December 4, when they host Stockton University in an 8 p.m. NJAC game.