NEWARK, N.J. (Jan. 28, 2023) – The Rutgers University-Newark placed four players in double figures as it held off Rutgers University-Camden, 71-63, in a tight New Jersey Athletic Conference men's basketball game here Saturday.
The Scarlet Raiders improved to 6-14 overall and 4-9 in the NJAC, snapping a two-game losing streak. They have won their last nine meetings against the Scarlet Raptors and hold a 60-36 lead in the all-time series.
Rutgers-Camden fell to 3-17 overall and 1-12 in the conference.
After trailing, 31-25, at halftime, Rutgers-Camden surged back to take a 49-48 lead with 9:34 remaining on a dunk by junior guard
Ethan Tarte. A pair of foul shots by sophomore forward
Jordany Pierre gave the Scarlet Raptors a 51-48 lead, but Newark scored the next nine points, taking the lead for good, at 52-51 on a layup by sophomore guard Levi Holton.
After a pair of foul shots by freshman guard Shy'Heed Jenkins-Floyd made it a 54-51 Newark lead, Pierre cut the gap to two points with a foul shot of his own. Jenkins-Floyd followed with a layup and a foul shot to give Newark a 57-52 lead. Pierre countered with a layup to make it 57-54, before back-to-back layups by the Raiders' senior center Tyrone Bowens and Scarlet Raptor freshman forward
Cameron Downs made it a 59-56 game.
After a three-point play by Newark junior guard Tony Godwin gave the home team a 62-56 lead, Downs countered with his own three-point play on a layup and foul shot. That play came with 3:36 remaining, slicing Newark's lead to 62-59, but that was the closest the Raptors came the rest of the way. Leading, 67-63, the Scarlet Raiders closed out the game with four foul shots in the last 28 seconds.
Godwin led the Scarlet Raiders with 14 points, while Bowens scored 12, Jenkins netted 11 and freshman guard/forward Eli Camacho added 10. Sophomore forward Kelvin Marshall had seven rebounds to lead Rutgers-Newark and help the Scarlet Raiders hold a 38-22 lead off the boards. Jenkins also had five assists.
Downs paced the Scarlet Raptors with a game highs of 19 points and three steals, while Pierre notched 10 points. Savage collected five points, two steals and a team-high six rebounds. He tied with sophomore guard
Kobe Devine for a team-high three assists.
Rutgers-Camden shot 20-for-52 (38.5 percent) from the floor and Rutgers-Newark shot 25-for-46 (54.3).
The Scarlet Raptors return to action Wednesday when they travel to NJAC-leading Rowan University for a 5:30 p.m. game.