Men's Basketball Edges
Rutgers-Camden, 59-56
Union, N.J. (12/2/09) - Senior Brian
Lytle (Union, N.J.) scored a team-high 14 points as the
Kean University men's team edged visiting Rutgers-Camden, 59-56,
Wednesday evening at Harwood Arena.
The matchup was the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) opener
for both as Kean improved to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the NJAC.
The loss is the first for the Scarlet Raptors this season as Camden
falls to 3-1 and 0-1 in conference action.
Junior Jonathan Jones (Linden, N.J.) (pictured
right) scored the first basket of the contest as Kean didn't look
back in the first half, controlling the lead throughout. Kean
took their biggest lead with 1:57 to go as senior Eugene
Tolliver (East Orange, N.J.) nailed a three-pointer to
give KU a 29-13 advantage. Kean headed into the break with a
36-22 lead.
In the first half senior Akinwande Oshodi (Florence,
N.J.) added seven points and five rebounds while Tolliver
and Lytle added six apiece. For Rutgers-Camden, senior
Joshua Askew (Sicklerville, N.J.) had seven points.
The Cougars kept pace with their lead throughout the early part of
the second half, but the Scarlet Raptors started chipping away
late, and closed the deficit to single digits with 5:52 to go as
Chris Clahar (Philadelphia, Pa.) hit a layup to put the
score at 53-44. Camden continued to close the gap and got
within two on two separate occasions with under a minute in the
game. Askew hit a trey with 57 seconds remaining to put the
score at 55-53. After a Lytle basket and a Jones free-throw
to push the lead back to five, Askew again hit a three-pointer with
eight seconds on the clock, trailing 58-56. Freshman
Mike Shaughnessy (Linwood, N.J.) hit one-of-two
from the free-throw line to push the lead back to three before
Askew's last second three-point attempt fell short at the buzzer.
Oshodi (pictured left) finished with 10 points and six rebounds
while Jones added seven points and 12 rebounds.
For Rutgers-Camden, Askew had a game-high 16 points while Clahar
added 12 in the loss.
Kean will travel to take on Montclair State on Saturday,
December 5th at 1 p.m. while Rutgers-Camden will face
Rutgers-Newark at 8 p.m.
