CAMDEN, N.J. (Feb. 8, 2025) – The Kean University men's basketball team overcame a 12-point deficit with 14:48 remaining in the second half and went on to defeat Rutgers University-Camden, 81-75, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Saturday afternoon.
Down, 59-47, the Cougars went on a 21-9 run to tie the game at 68-68 with 4:43 remaining on a free throw by senior forward Phil Brown Jr. He added a layup with 3:53 remaining to put the Cougars ahead to stay, 70-68, as part of an 11-point run that saw Kean establish a 76-68 lead. The closest the Scarlet Raptors came after that was 79-75 with a few seconds remaining. Brown Jr. closed out the game with a pair of foul shots.
The win lifted Kean to 12-10 overall and 10-5 in the NJAC, while Rutgers-Camden fell to 8-13 overall and 3-12 in the conference. Kean won both games in the season series this year and holds a 65-29 lead in the all-time series.
Behind 17 points from junior guard
Jordan Trusty-Smith, the Scarlet Raptors built a 44-39 halftime lead. They increased that margin to 59-47 early in the second half with a 15-8 run, including eight points from junior guard
Eric Benjamin.
Back-to-back layups by Brown Jr. and senior guard Ethan Stith sliced the gap under double digits to start the Cougars' comeback.
Brown Jr. finished with 22 points and eight rebounds for Kean, while graduate student guard Andrew Turco notched 19, including 6-for-8 shooting from three-point range. Senior guards Justin Morton and D.J. Alicea added 10 and nine points, respectively.
Junior forward
Cameron Downs notched a game-high 23 points for the Scarlet Raptors, hiking his career total to 1,164 points and jumping from 12th place to ninth place on the program's all-time scoring list.
Trusty-Smith tied his career high with 19 points, while Benjamin added 16. Trusty-Smith and junior forward
Cherif Kanoute both dished off four assists, while graduate student guard
Javon Gordon had a game-high six steals.
Kean shot 27-for-47 from the floor (57.4 percent) and Rutgers-Camden shot 27-for-60 (45.0). From the line, the Cougars went 18-for-29 (62.1) and the Scarlet Raptors were 12-for-14 (85.7).
Rutgers-Camden held a 35-24 advantage off the boards.
Rutgers-Camden returns to action on Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. NJAC game at Stockton University.
