CAMDEN, N.J. (Dec. 3, 2025) – When the last desperation three-point attempt by Rowan University hit off the back of the rim at the buzzer, a wild and thrilling New Jersey Athletic Conference game ended with the Rutgers University-Camden men's basketball team holding on for a 70-68 victory here Wednesday night.
 
The win lifts the Scarlet Raptors to 6-1 overall and marks only the fourth time in their history they started the NJAC season with a win. The last time came during the 2013-14 season.
 
Rowan fell to 0-7 overall and 0-2 in NJAC play.
 
The Profs took their last lead of the game, 66-65, on a pair of foul shots with 1:34 remaining by junior guard Michael Pirone. Shortly after that, senior forward Cameron Downs put Rutgers-Camden back ahead, 67-66, with a pair of foul shots.
 
The Raptors tacked on a foul shot by senior guard Eric Benjamin to take a 68-66 lead into the wild final 10 seconds, but a jumper by Rowan senior guard Bryen Williams tied the game at 68-68, setting up the game-winning play for the Scarlet Raptors. Sophomore guard Keion Elliott launched a long in-bounds pass from his baseline that Downs caught with an athletic move and shoveled to junior guard Caleb Edwards for a tie-breaking dunk with 7.7 seconds left. Rowan's last chance, a three-point attempt by Williams, hit off the rim at the buzzer.
 
Downs finished with a game-high 22 points for the Scarlet Raptors and moved up the ladder on the program's all-time records in a pair of categories. He hiked his career scoring output to 1,367 points, moving into third place on the career chart by passing Brian O'Donnell, who had 1,359 points from 1986-90. Downs also went 5-for-5 from the foul line to give him 329 career foul shots, moving into second place on the all-time list past Reggie Owens, who made 325 foul shots from 1981-85. Downs added a game-high nine rebounds.
 
The Scarlet Raptors also received 16 points from Benjamin, 13 from sophomore guard Ryan Senft and 12 from Edwards.
 
Junior forward Khalil Baker led Rowan with 15 points and seven rebounds, while senior guard Taz Cantey scored 14 points, Williams netted 13 and freshman guard Khamal Orange added 10.
 
Rutgers-Camden shot 28-for-65 (43.1 percent) from the floor and 12-for-17 (70.6) from the foul line. Rowan went 22-for-52 (42.3) from the floor and 20-for-33 (60.6) from the charity stripe.
 
Rowan held a 39-34 advantage off the boards.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to action on Saturday with a 3 p.m. NJAC game at Ramapo College.