EWING, N.J. (Dec. 11, 2024) – The College of New Jersey men's basketball team went on a 13-4 run at the end of the first half to turn a three-point lead into a 12-point halftime bulge and the Lions went on to defeat the Scarlet Raptors, 76-62, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Wednesday night.
 
TCNJ, which was ranked #15 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll on Dec. 1 before receiving 10 votes toward the poll this week, improves to 7-2 overall and 2-2 in the NJAC. Rutgers-Camden falls to 5-5 overall and 0-4 in conference play with its fifth straight loss.
 
The Lions have won their last 20 games against the Scarlet Raptors since a loss on Nov. 25, 2014. TCNJ leads the all-time series, 78-18.
 
The Scarlet Raptors fell into a quick 5-0 hole to start the game and trailed, 13-3, before rallying to tie the game at 16-16 on a trey by junior forward Cherif Kanoute. Shortly after that, Kanoute gave the Raptors their first lead, 17-16, with a foul shot.
 
TCNJ regained its lead at 18-17 on a layup by junior guard Nick Koch and took a 24-21 lead before going on its late-half run. By halftime, the Lions held a 37-25 lead, with Koch scoring 16 points.
 
The Lions broke open the game by scoring nine of the first 11 points in the second half to take a 46-27 lead.
 
Koch finished with 30 points for the Lions, shooting 9-for-11 from the floor, including 4-for-4 from three-point range. He was 8-for-8 from the foul line.
 
Senior forward Matthew Okorie added 18 points for TCNJ, while junior forward Matthew Solomon led the team with 10 rebounds and added nine points.
 
Kanoute finished with 15 points for the Scarlet Raptors, while sophomore guard Lamar Davis had 13 points, three steals and four assists. Junior forward Cameron Downs added 11 points and a team-high six rebounds. His scoring output hiked his career total to 965.
 
TCNJ shot 25-for-52 (48.1 percent) from the floor, while Rutgers-Camden went 22-for-52 (42.3). The Lions went 20-for-23 (87.0) from the foul line. The Scarlet Raptors were 11-for-21 (52.4) from the line.
 
TCNJ held a 32-31 edge in rebounds.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to action on Saturday with a 1 p.m. NJAC home game against Montclair State University. It will be the Scarlet Raptors' final game before the holiday break.