CAMDEN, N.J. (Jan. 22, 2025) – The final seconds of the Rutgers-Camden men's basketball victory over Rutgers-Newark here Wednesday night seemed like an eternity as the Scarlet Raptors clung to a slim lead.
The wait was worth it for Rutgers-Camden, however, as it defeated the Scarlet Raiders, 53-50, in a thrilling New Jersey Athletic Conference game to cap the third annual Raptor Rally celebration.
Leading by three points, 51-48, with 18 seconds remaining, the Scarlet Raptors seemingly put the game away on a pair of foul shots by junior forward
Cameron Downs with 10 seconds left. Newark, however, cut the gap to 53-50 on a basket by sophomore guard Greg Jones with two seconds remaining, and Jones was fouled on the play. He missed the free throw, but the Scarlet Raiders rebounded the ball and got it back to Jones, who missed the potential game-tying trey as time expired.
The win was the second straight for Rutgers-Camden, which raised its record to 7-9 overall and 2-8 in the NJAC. Rutgers-Newark fell to 5-12 overall and 1-9 in conference play with its fifth straight loss.
Camden took a 29-23 halftime lead behind 15 points from junior guard
Eric Benjamin. The Scarlet Raptors increased that margin to as many as nine points (41-32 and 43-34) before the Scarlet Raiders whittled the margin to 51-48 in the last 18 seconds, setting up the exciting finish.
Benjamin finished with a game-high 18 points, while Downs added 11 points and a game-high four assists. Junior forward
Cherif Kanoute grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Rutgers-Newark received 13 points from senior guard Levi Holton. Sophomore center Donovan Crawford scored 12 points and added a game-high nine rebounds, helping the Scarlet Raiders hold a 36-28 advantage off the boards. Jones chipped in with 10 points for the Scarlet Raiders.
Camden shot 19-for-48 (39.6 percent) from the floor and 10-for-15 (66.7) from the foul line, led by Downs' 5-for-6 performance from the charity stripe. Newark shot 18-for-43 (41.9) from the floor and 12-for-23 (52.2) from the foul line.
Rutgers-Camden returns to action on Saturday with a 3 p.m. NJAC game at Ramapo College.
