KEENE, N.H. (March 8, 2026) – After earning the first NCAA post-season win in program history on Saturday, the historic season of the Rutgers University-Camden men's basketball team ended here Sunday in the semifinals of the ECAC Division III Men's Basketball Championship.
 
With the Scarlet Raptors playing without injured senior forward Cameron Downs for almost the entire second half, host and second-seeded Keene State College rallied from a 35-27 halftime deficit to eliminate Rutgers-Camden, 63-59. The Owls (19-11) will face fifth-seeded New Jersey City University in the title game on Saturday. NJCU eliminated top seed Pittsburgh-Greensburg, 76-73, in Sunday's other semifinal.
 
Rutgers-Camden (14-12) started quickly, hitting six of its first seven shots, including 5-for-6 from three-point range, to grab a quick 17-2 lead. By halftime, the Scarlet Raptors led the Owls (19-11), 35-27.
 
Only 43 seconds into the second half, Downs went out for good, ending his season with five points to hike his career total to 1,711. He finished as the second-highest scorer in Rutgers-Camden program history.
 
Keene State finally caught the Scarlet Raptors at 35-35 only 4:40 into the second half on a layup by sophomore guard Jordan McClain. Rutgers-Camden regained the lead on a foul shot by sophomore guard Ryan Senft and pushed its lead to 42-37 on a three-point play by senior guard Eric Benjamin with 13:18 left, but Keene State rattled off the next 13 points while taking the lead for good.
 
Rutgers-Camden mounted a rally of its own, going on a 10-3 run to slice its deficit to 53-52 with 3:07 remaining, but the Owls hung on for the win.
 
Junior guard Jordan Cooper paced Keene State with 16 points, while sophomore guard Gabe Marquis added 13 points.
 
Senior guard Eric Benjamin led the Scarlet Raptors with a game-high 17 points. Along the way he hit four treys as he finished his career with 173 three-pointers, the second-highest total in program history. Senft finished with his second career double-double, collecting 12 points and tying his career rebounding high of 10. He also added a game-high five assists.
 
Freshman guard/forward Gardy Etienne grabbed a career-best 12 rebounds to lead all players and help the Scarlet Raptors hold a 43-37 advantage off the boards.
 
Rutgers-Camden finished the night shooting 19-for-60 from the floor (31.7 percent), going 6-for-32 (18.75) in the second half after shooting 13-for-28 (46.43) in the opening half. The Scarlet Raptors hit five of their six treys in the opening half (5-for-14, 35.71) and went 1-for-11 (9.09) from three-point range after the break. They were 15-for-23 (65.2) from the foul line.
 
Keene State shot 22-for-61 (36.1) from the floor for the game and 13-for-26 (50.0) from the foul line. The Owls also won the turnover battle, making 11 while forcing 16 by Rutgers-Camden.