CAMDEN, N.J. (Feb. 5, 2025) – The College of New Jersey men's basketball team outscored Rutgers University-Camden, 33-15, in the opening half here Wednesday on its way to a 63-38 victory in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game.
 
TCNJ improved to 16-5 overall and 9-5 in the conference, while Rutgers-Camden fell to 8-12 and 3-11.
 
The Lions have won their last 21 games against the Scarlet Raptors and lead the all-time series, 79-18.
 
The Scarlet Raptors led only twice at the start of the game, 4-3 and 6-5, before the Lions scored the next six points to take the lead for good at 11-6. After Rutgers-Camden rallied within three points at 14-11, TCNJ scored the next six points and 15 of the next 17 points to break the game open.
 
The Lions led by 20 or more points throughout the second half, with a high of 31 (61-30).
 
Junior guard Nick Koch and senior forward Matthew Okorie both scored 13 points for the Lions, while junior forward Matthew Solomon notched a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Sophomore guard David Alexandre added 10 points for the Lions.
 
Junior forwards Cameron Downs and Cherif Kanoute both scored 10 points for the Scarlet Raptors, with Downs adding 10 rebounds for a double-double. Kanoute, meanwhile, hit the only two treys of the night for Rutgers-Camden, which shot 2-for-26 (12.5 percent) from three-point range.
 
Downs' 10 points raised his career total to 1,141, tying James Washington (1995-98) for 12th place on the program's all-time scoring list.
 
The Lions shot 24-for-62 (38.7 percent) from the floor and 9-for-14 (64.3) from the foul line. Rutgers-Camden shot 16-for-57 (28.1) from the floor and 4-for-9 (44.4) from the line.
 
With the 6-foot-7 Solomon leading the way, TCNJ held a 49-37 advantage off the boards.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to action on Saturday with a 1 p.m. NJAC home game against Kean University.