Box Score

Sewell, NJ--- Senior guard Bill Banks (Berlin, NJ/Eastern Regional) collected a career-high 26 points to lead five Rutgers-Camden players in double figures as the Scarlet Raptors edged The College of New Jersey, 83-77, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference men's basketball game Monday night.

The game, held at Gloucester County College, helped the Scarlet Raptors split the season series with the Lions and earn their first NJAC win of the campaign. Rutgers-Camden is 1-9 in the conference and has won its last two games overall to improve to 6-16.

TCNJ, which has lost six straight games, falls to 8-14 overall and 4-7 in the NJAC. Although the Scarlet Raptors have won three of the last four games against the Lions, TCNJ leads the all-time series, 53-12.
Rutgers-Camden raced to an 18-6 lead before the Lions came roaring back to cut the halftime deficit to 42-35. They scored the first five points of the second half to make it a 42-40 game, but Rutgers-Camden went on a 15-6 run to open up the game. The Raptors held a 77-66 lead with 2:50 remaining, but the Lions went on a 9-2 run to make it a 79-75 game with 30 seconds left. Rutgers-Camden closed out the game with 6-for-6 shooting from the foul line, including a pair of free throws by freshman swingman Joe Bush (New Brunswick, NJ/Somerset County Vo-Tech) and the last four by Banks.

Banks shot 9-for-13 from the floor, including 4-for-6 from three-point range, as he set a new career high of 26 points. His old high of 25 came against Philadelphia Biblical University on Nov. 18. With his four treys, meanwhile, Banks raised his two-year Rutgers-Camden total to 107, moving past Gene Mergenthal (2000-04) for eighth on the program's all-time list.

Junior Tarik Hanton (Philadelphia, PA/Kensington) notched 16 points, while Bush finished with 13 for the Raptors. Junior Rory Thornton (Vauxhall, NJ/Union) added 11 points – one shy of his career high – and senior Joshua Askew (Sicklerville, NJ/Winslow Township) canned 10.

Thornton also tied his career high with five assists.

TCNJ received a career-high 20 points from sophomore Chris Snyder (Northside Cranford, NJ/Cranford), aided by 8-for-15 shooting from the floor, including three treys. Junior Jay Frank (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) added 11 points for the Lions.

The Raptors' Bush and the Lions' sophomore Steven Siracusa (New Providence, NJ/New Providence) tied for game-high rebounding honors with six apiece. The Lions held a 30-26 edge off the boards, but couldn't overcome the hot hands of the Raptors, who shot 60.4 percent (29-for-48) from the floor. The Lions shot 47.7 percent (31-for-65).

Both teams play 3 p.m. NJAC games on Saturday. TCNJ entertains Rowan University, while Rutgers-Camden plays at Kean University. The Scarlet Raptors return to Gloucester County College Monday night, when they entertain Rowan in an 8 p.m. NJAC makeup game.