Box Score

Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's basketball team put together an all-around solid effort as they upended Rutgers University-Camden 77-62 in Packer Hall on Wednesday night.
 
The triumph put an end to a six-game slide for the Lions (7-10, 2-5 NJAC) as they captured their second New Jersey Athletic Conference win of the season. The victory puts TCNJ back in the thick of the South Division race as they now match Rowan University and Kean University with two conference wins.
 
Senior Kyle Rawson (Warren, NJ/Watchung Hills) put forth a spirited effort to lead the Lions, matching a season-high with 17 points. He also collected six rebounds and dished out five assists.
 
Freshman Emmanuel Matlock (Trenton, NJ/Solebury) also had a banner day as he set career bests with 16 points and nine rebounds. Junior Donovan Smalls (Union, NJ/Union) added eight points in the win.
 
Sophomore Woody Redding (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast Catholic) had a game-high 20 points for the Scarlet Raptors (2-14, 0-6 NJAC). Sophomore Kyle Bowman (Camden, NJ/Collingswood) finished with 13 points and six boards, while freshman Joshua Stevens (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast Catholic) tallied nine points and collected six rebounds.
 
Play was choppy early on as both teams got caught up in a sprinter's pace. Junior William Lester (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) settled things down for the Lions, knocking down a three-point shot at the 11:54 mark to tie the game 12-12. That set the Lions off on a 10-1 run.
 
RUC's Bowman nailed a pair of 3-pointers to tighten up the contest, but 14 first-half turnovers made it tough for the Raptors to sustain offensive production.
 
Emmanuel Matlock took a bounce pass from Rawson and then a near-identical feed from freshman Ryan Keegan (Farmingdale, NJ/Howell) on the ensuing possession to drop in a pair of layups in the final minutes of the period. Matlock scored seven of his team's final nine points of the half as TCNJ took a 34-23 lead into the break.
 
Rutgers-Camden quickly erased the deficit, tying the game at 40 just under five minutes into the second half. Bowman, Reddy, and senior Anthony Solano (Garfield, NJ/Wood-Ridge) each drained three-point shots to lead the Raptor's charge.
 
The Lions were able to regroup as Smalls and a Rawson hit key buckets during a 12-2 run to push the lead back to double digits.
 
Fouls shots were a factor in the game as the two teams combined to take 71 free throw attempts in the game. TCNJ was efficient from the line, making good on 28-of-36 attempts. Rutgers-Camden capitalized on just 57 percent of their charity tosses.
 
Senior Albert Matlock (Trenton, NJ/Solebury) finished with six points and grabbed a season-best six boards. He also matched a career-high with five steals. Keegan had seven points in the game, while Lester chipped in with six points. The Lions finished with 13 steals in the game.
 
The Lions return to the floor in Packer Hall on Friday, January 20 when they take on Hunter College in a non-conference battle at 7 p.m. The Scarlet Raptors visit William Paterson University on Saturday, January 21 at 3 p.m.