RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-CAMDEN TALLIES KEY NJAC WIN IN MEN’S BASKETBALL PLAY
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Ewing, NJ…The College of New Jersey men’s basketball team
hosted the Scarlet Raptors of Rutgers University-Camden on Wednesday night in
NJAC play. Rutgers-Camden tallied the 58-53 win as the Scarlet Raptors snapped a
six-game losing streak to improve to 4-15 overall and 1-6 in the league. TCNJ
drops to 5-13 overall and 1-6 in the NJAC.
The win over the Lions by RUC
snapped a 10-game win streak TCNJ held over RUC. Rutgers-Camden’s last win over
TCNJ came on January 30, 2002, a 95-80 overtime win in Camden, NJ. That snapped
a 30-game losing streak against TCNJ. The Lions still hold a commanding edge
in the series history with a 52-10 lead.
Rutgers-Camden’s junior guard Bill
Banks (Berlin, NJ/Eastern) led all scorers with 21 points, while freshman guard
Brandon Canty (Riverside, NJ/Riverside) added 15 points off the bench. Junior
forward Antoine Miller (Camden, NJ/Medical Arts) added a game-high 10 rebounds,
including nine defensive boards in leading his team to the win.
TCNJ pulled
within one point, 51-50 at 1:15 on a rebound and layup by junior guard Jeff
Molinelli (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley), before Canty hit a key three-point
basket at 31.8 to give his team a 54-40 lead. TCNJ’s sophomore Jay Frank (Brick,
NJ/Brick Memorial) sank a three-pointer at 24.5 left to play keeping it a
one-point game.
RUC’s sophomore Joshua Askew (Philadelphia, PA/Winslow
Township) hit two free throws at 22.1 left to play as his squad once again took
a three-point lead, 56-53. They were his only points of the game, but turned out
to be key. Banks returned to the free throw line at 7.9 seconds and proceeded to
make both shots to give his team a 58-53 lead as TCNJ’s last shot failed to hit
the mark.
RUC held a 25-22 lead at the break and led in all but one
possession of the half (19-18 with 6:20). Leading the way for the Scarlet
Raptors in the first half was Banks added eight points. RUC held a narrow edge
on the boards (21-19) in the first half. TCNJ’s Frank tallied seven points and
six boards in the first half and finished with 15 points as the only Lion in
double-digits on the night and was also the high performer on the boards with
eight caroms.
TCNJ returns to action on Saturday, February 2 at New
Jersey City University in a 7 p.m. NJAC match-up, while Rutgers-Camden hosts
Montclair State University also on February 2 in a 3 p.m. home league
contest.