CAMDEN, N.J. (Dec. 14, 2024) – The Rutgers University-Camden men's basketball team chased Montclair State University the entire day here Saturday, but except for a brief early tie the Scarlet Raptors couldn't quite manage to catch the Red Hawks.
As a result, Montclair State went on to post a 70-58 victory in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game.
The win lifts the Red Hawks to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the NJAC. The Scarlet Raptors, who lost their sixth straight game, fall to 5-6 overall and 0-5 in the NJAC.
Montclair State leads the all-time series, 63-11 and has won its last eight games against Rutgers-Camden.
After the Red Hawks scored the first five points of the game, the Raptors answered with a trey by junior guard
Jordan Trusty-Smith and a jumper by sophomore guard
Lamar Davis to tie the game at 5-5. Montclair State countered with a three-pointer by senior guard Mike Jackson and, despite being close throughout most of the first half, the Scarlet Raptors trailed the rest of the way.
Trailing by only three points with four minutes left in the opening half, 24-21, Rutgers-Camden watched Montclair State score the last 10 points to grab a 34-21 halftime lead. The last six points came on a pair of treys by junior forward Jacob Morales.
Rutgers-Camden sliced its deficit to three points on several occasions in the second half (43-40, 45-42 and 47-44), but each time the Red Hawks countered with a field goal or a pair of foul shots to hike the margin back to five. Trailing by 52-46 in the last five minutes, the Scarlet Raptors saw the Red Hawks close out their win with an 18-12 run. Eight of those points were scored by Morales, who finished with 22 points and seven rebounds. Jackson added 12 points for Montclair State, which placed nine players in the scoring column.
Junior forward
Cameron Downs had a big game for the Scarlet Raptors, notching his second double-double of the season with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while also tying freshman guard
Ryan Senft with a game-high five assists. Downs added three blocked shots. His 26 points, aided by 8-for-11 shooting from the floor and 9-for-9 shooting from the foul line, raised his career total to 991.
Trusty-Smith added 15 points, while junior forward
Cherif Kanoute hauled down nine rebounds.
Montclair State shot 22-for-57 from the floor (38.6), but the Red Hawks were 10-for-25 (40.0) from three-point range, led by Morales, who went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc. Rutgers-Camden went 22-for-49 (44.9) from the floor, but only 3-for-17 (17.7) from three-point range.
The Scarlet Raptors held a 36-32 edge off the boards.
Rutgers-Camden returns to action on January 8, 2025, when it hosts Stockton University in a 7:30 p.m. NJAC game.
