CAMDEN, N.J. (Feb. 8, 2023) – With Rutgers University-Camden celebrating its first Scarlet Raptors Rally in support of its basketball teams, everything started off on a high note for the men's team here Wednesday.
 
Shooting the lights out, Rutgers-Camden raced to a quick 14-point lead against New Jersey Athletic Conference rival Kean University. The Cougars, however, still had over 33 minutes remaining in the game and by the time everything was over, Kean had completely turned the contest around on the way to an 86-65 victory.
 
The Cougars improved to 17-6 overall and 10-6 in the NJAC, while the Scarlet Raptors fell to 4-19 and 2-14. Kean has won its last four games against Rutgers-Camden and leads the all-time series, 63-27.
 
Rutgers-Camden started out as if it would snap its losing streak against Kean. Sparked by four three-pointers in the opening 6:33, including three of them by sophomore guard Eric Benjamin, the Scarlet Raptors raced to a 20-6 lead with 13:27 remaining in the first half. Benjamin scored 11 points in that stretch on his way to a team-high 17.
 
As quickly as that lead was built, it vanished. Over the next 10 minutes, Kean went on a 20-6 run of its own to to tie the game at 26-26. A layup by Benjamin gave Rutgers-Camden its last lead of the night, 28-26. Kean tied the game on a jumper by senior forward Letrell West and took the lead for good, 30-28, on a layup by junior guard D.J. Alicea with 1:52 remaining in the half. By halftime, the Cougars led, 39-28, after rattling off the final 13 points of the half.
 
Camden cut its deficit to 39-31 when freshman forward Cameron Downs opened the second half with a trey, but the Scarlet Raptors never came closer. Kean built a 21-point lead (61-40) midway through the second half and went on to win by 21.
 
The Cougars' 6-6 senior center Griffin Barker finished with 23 points and eight rebounds, while West scored 17 and senior forward JD Daniels added 12. Junior guard Heem Burno collected nine points and a game highs of six assists and five steals.
 
Benjamin and Downs paced the Raptors with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Downs and senior guard Jaymes Savage both had four rebounds to lead Rutgers-Camden, which was out-rebounded by the Cougars, 35-21. Junior guard Ethan Tarte notched nine points and a team-high five assists for the Raptors, while Savage added four assists.
 
Kean shot 33-for-53 (62.3 percent) from the floor, while Rutgers-Camden was 25-for-56 (44.6). The Cougars also went 18-for-20 (90.0) from the foul line, while the Scarlet Raptors were 5for-10 (50.0).
 
The Scarlet Raptors close their season with a pair of NJAC road games. They play a 3 p.m. game at William Paterson University Saturday and an 8 p.m. game at New Jersey City University Feb. 15.