CAMDEN, N.J. (Jan. 22, 2020) – Rutgers University-Camden sophomore forward Jake Petrik spent his freshman year playing basketball at Rowan University.
 
The transfer student came back to haunt his old team here Wednesday, scoring a career-high 24 points to lead the Scarlet Raptors to a wild 90-87 victory over the Profs in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game.
 
Rutgers-Camden improves to 6-10 overall and 3-7 in NJAC play, posting its second conference win in three outings while snapping an eight-game losing streak against Rowan. It was the Raptors' first win over the Profs since Dec. 2, 2015 when they won a 71-70 game in Camden.
 
Rowan falls to 8-9 overall and 4-6 in the NJAC, snapping its two-game winning streak. The Profs lead the all-time series against Rutgers-Camden, 97-33.
 
Petrik had plenty of help as senior forward Isaac Destin poured in 23 points, while junior guard Arian Azemi collected a double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds, while tying for game-high honors with five assists. The Scarlet Raptors also had a career-high 17 points from sophomore guard Keysean Simmonds.
 
Petrik's former career high was 14 points against Rosemont on Nov. 10, while Simmonds' old high was 12 against Arcadia on Nov. 9.
 
Rowan jumped out to a big start, leading 14-5 only three minutes into the game. After Rutgers-Camden sliced the deficit to three points on three occasions – the last coming at 21-18 – the Profs went on a five-point run to grab a 26-18 advantage.
 
The Scarlet Raptors finally came back to tie the game, 28-28, on a jumper by junior guard Victor Nyanway, but Rowan followed with a 13-2 run to take its first of two 11-point leads (41-30 and 43-32). Behind seven points from Destin and five from Petrik, the Raptors sliced the gap to 45-44 before Rowan took a 46-44 lead into halftime.
 
Rutgers-Camden finally took its first lead of the game at 54-52, four minutes into the second half, on a layup by Azemi. That was the first of 17 second-half lead changes, while the score also was tied on nine occasions. Rutgers-Camden finally took the lead for good, 88-86, on a layup by Azemi with 1:03 remaining.
 
In the final seconds, freshman forward Dylan Trow grabbed a huge rebound off a missed Rowan foul shot with the Raptors clinging to an 88-87 lead. Trow was fouled and scored his lone point of the game with a clutch foul shot, making it an 89-87 game. His second foul shot was rebounded by Destin, who was fouled and sunk two free throws for the final margin. Rowan missed a three-pointer with five seconds remaining and another trey at the buzzer.
 
The Profs placed five players in the scoring column, led by 22 points from senior guard Maliq Sanders. Senior forward Austin Kearney notched 15 points and nine rebounds, while senior forward Diante Bah and senior guard Jerry Price both added 12 points. Junior guard Matt Green had 10 points and tied Azemi with a game-high five assists.
 
Rutgers-Camden shot 32-for-77 (41.6 percent) from the floor and 15-for-21 (71.4) from the foul line. Rowan was 30-for-68 (44.1) from the floor and 19-for-27 (70.4) from the line.
 
The two teams combined for 19 treys, including 11 by Rutgers-Camden. Five of those came from Petrik, who went 7-for-16 overall from the floor, including 5-for-11 from three-point range. He was 5-for-6 from the foul line.
 
Rutgers-Camden hosts William Paterson University in a 1 p.m. NJAC game Saturday.