UNION, N.J. (Jan. 5, 2013) – Kean University junior guard Michael Burton (Irvington, NJ/South Plainfield) scored 13 points and the Cougars rallied from an eight-point deficit early in the second half to defeat Rutgers University-Camden, 63-61, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference men's basketball game here Saturday afternoon.
Kean improves to 5-7 overall and 4-3 in the NJAC. Rutgers-Camden, which saw its two-game winning streak snapped, falls to 5-7 and 3-4.
The Cougars have won 11 straight games against Rutgers-Camden and lead the all-time series, 52-19. The last series win by the Scarlet Raptors was an 86-77 triumph in Camden on Feb. 17, 2007.
In a tight game all the way, the two teams were never separated by more than eight points, while being tied on five occasions and switching leads five times. Kean's biggest lead was a 26-20 first-half edge, while Rutgers-Camden built a 43-35 margin with a 10-point run early in the second half before the Cougars responded with eight straight points to tie the game at 43-43.
With the score deadlocked at 50-50, Kean's junior center Xavier Fuller (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) scored four straight points on a jumper and a layup to give the Cougars the lead for good, 54-50. Although the Scarlet Raptors trimmed the gap to two points on a pair of occasions (54-52 and the final margin), the Cougars closed out their win with seven of their last nine points coming from the foul line.
Trailing, 63-58, the Scarlet Raptors cut the final gap to 63-61 on a three-pointer by sophomore guard/forward Teon Russell (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson) with one second remaining. The Raptors stole the ensuing inbounds pass, but their attempt to tie the game came up barely short when a shot fell through the basket after the final buzzer.
The Scarlet Raptors had scored the last seven points of a tight first half to take a 33-30 advantage into the break, but Kean ran off the first five points of the second half to regain the lead, 35-33. Rutgers-Camden followed with a 10-point run, aided by four points from Russell, to take the biggest lead of the game at 43-35, before the Cougars countered with an eight-point run. Kean tied the game at 43-43 on a layup by Fuller, who finished second on the team behind Burton in scoring with 10 points.
Junior forward Kyle Latorre (Hasbrouck Heights, NJ/Hasbrouck Heights) finished with eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds for the Cougars, who held a 34-29 edge off the boards.
Russell had a stellar game in the losing effort for the Scarlet Raptors, notching game-high totals of 26 points and 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. He shot 10-for-17 from the field, including 1-for-1 from three-point range, as his 26 points set a new career high, passing the mark of 24 he scored against both Montclair State and Westfield State earlier this season.
Overall, the Cougars shot 21-for-48 (.438) from the field, while the Raptors were 22-for-54 (.407). Both teams committed 18 turnovers.
Both teams return to action with non-conference games Monday. Kean entertains Stevens Institute of Technology at 6 p.m. and Rutgers-Camden plays an 8 p.m. at Rosemont College.