 |
 |
| |
|
|
Monday, January 10, 2005 By Mike Ballard RAPTOR OF THE WEEK Sophomore guard/forward Dane Nicholson became only the 11th player in Rutgers-Camden men’s basketball program history to record 40 points in a game when he reached that mark while lifting the Scarlet Raptors to a 90-87 triple-overtime win at Arcadia University Jan. 6. He went 17-for-28 from the field, including 4-for-6 from three-point range, and also shot 2-for-3 from the foul line. He also had two steals and set a career high of 14 rebounds. In four games last week, Nicholson averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds, while shooting 50 percent from the field (27-for-54) and from three-point range (5-for-10). Nicholson’s honor marks his second Raptor of the Week this season. He also won the award Dec. 13.
Sophomore guard/forward Dane Nicholson (Pleasantville, NJ/Holy Spirit) etched his name among the all-time great single-game performances in Rutgers-Camden men’s basketball history last week. Nicholson became the 11th player in program history to score 40 points in one game as the Scarlet Raptors outlasted Arcadia University, 90-87, in a triple-overtime thriller Jan. 6 in Glenside, PA. The game was the third triple-overtime contest in school history, with Rutgers-Camden winning in all three marathons. Rutgers-Camden also defeated Virginia State, 97-95, in three overtimes (Dec. 30, 1989) and beat William Paterson, 68-67, in triple-overtime (Jan. 14, 1984). Nicholson had a phenomenal game as he went 17-for-28 from the field, including 4-for-6 from three-point range, and 2-for-3 from the foul line en route to his 40 points. In addition to shattering his previous career high of 24 points, set against The College of New Jersey Dec. 8, 2004, Nicholson also set a career high with 14 rebounds. His previous rebounding high was 10, accomplished twice in January, 2004 against Kean (Jan. 24) and Montclair State (Jan. 28). Nicholson became the first player to score 40 points at Rutgers-Camden since Dan Rucker had 40 against the University of D.C. on Feb. 24, 1978. Rucker set his school record of 46 points against Southeastern on Feb. 4, 1978. The Raptors bounced back from a 29-27 halftime deficit and sent the game into overtime tied at 66-66. After each team scored four points in the first overtime and 10 in the second overtime period, the Raptors outscored Arcadia, 10-7, in the third overtime. In addition to Nicholson, Rutgers-Camden received 17 points from junior forward Josh Kennedy (Westmont, NJ/Haddon Township), while freshman guard Amir Fantroyal (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek) added 12 points and a career-high nine rebounds. Kennedy added career highs of three assists and four blocked shots, while senior guard Tyrone Rucker (Pennsauken, NJ/Pennsauken) collected a career-high five assists. Arcadia received 23 points from junior forward Stuart Slattery and 20 points from sophomore forward Andrew Martin. The win over Arcadia was the Raptors’ highlight of a 1-3 week, which ended Jan. 8 with a 73-49 loss at Montclair State University in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game. Sophomore forward Al Hawkins scored a game-high 23 points to lead three Red Hawks in double figures. Montclair State also received 19 points and game-high totals of two blocked shots and 10 rebounds from junior forward Gian Paul Gonzalez. Senior forward Michael Gluck added 12 points for the Red Hawks. Rutgers-Camden received 16 points from Rucker, while Kennedy had 11 points and a game-high five steals. Freshman guard Kenny Yu (Queens, NJ/Townsend Harris) had nine points and a team-high four assists. After Montclair State jumped to a 9-0 lead, the Scarlet Raptors rallied to tie the game at 13-13, aided by an 8-0 run. Montclair State built a 25-22 halftime lead, and then broke the game open early in the second half with a 10-4 run. Montclair State shot 59.6 percent from the field (28-for-47) and took advantage of the Raptors’ lack of height by controlling the boards, 40-14. The Scarlet Raptors started the week on a tough note, losing both of their games at the Captains Shootout in Newport News, VA. They dropped the consolation game against New Jersey City University, 103-67, Jan. 4, one day after losing the opener against host and eventual champion Christopher Newport University, 93-54. In the consolation game, NJCU went on a 31-4 run late in the first half, breaking open a 21-21 deadlock and lifting the Gothic Knights to their big victory. Junior guard/forward Mark Washington scored a game-high 23 points for the Gothic Knights, who shot 43-for-71 from the field (60.6 percent), 10-for-16 from three-point range (62.5) and out-rebounded Rutgers-Camden, 40-31. The Scarlet Raptors also made 27 turnovers. Washington, who made the all-tournament team, went 10-for-11 from the field, notched three steals and tied with Rutgers-Camden’s Nicholson for a game-high four assists. The Gothic Knights placed two other players in double figures as junior center James Kaiser notched 14 points and freshman guard/forward Luis DaSilva collected 12 points. Rucker paced the Raptors with 22 points, while Nicholson added 19. Freshman guard Chris Crenshaw (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) scored a career-high 12 points for Rutgers-Camden, which had only seven players in uniform. Nicholson added a game-high four steals. In the opening game of the Captains Shootout, the Raptors lost to host Christopher Newport as Korey Lewis collected game-high totals of 20 points and 13 rebounds, leading five Captains in double figures. The Captains, who raced to a 41-21 halftime lead, held a commanding 52-34 advantage off the boards. For the Raptors, Rucker scored 18 points and Fantroyal added 10. Nicholson had a team-high seven rebounds, while Fantroyal added six.
Freshman guard Imani Hafiz (Franklinville, NJ/Delsea) had quite a week for the Lady Raptors, who went 1-2 in three contests, with their victory coming in the consolation game of the Craig Keeler Memorial Tournament at FDU-Florham Jan. 8. In that game, Hafiz collected career-high totals of 22 points and three assists, while adding a game-high five steals, to power Rutgers-Camden over Lincoln University, 70-53. Hafiz, who was named to the all-tournament team, went 9-for-13 from the field on her way to a game- and career-high 22 points. She passed her previous high of 14 set against Lehman College Dec. 11, 2004. The Lady Raptors, who snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 5-8, also received 14 points, six rebounds and six blocked shots from junior center Megan Rulon (Sewell, NJ/Clearview Regional). Sophomore guard Kelly Stafford (Gloucester City, NJ/Gloucester) notched 10 points and tied her career high with a game-high six assists. Junior guard/forward Carmen Zimmitt (Woodstown, NJ/Woodstown) notched nine points, eight rebounds and four assists, while senior guard Jackie Tursi (Sewell, NJ/Clearview Regional) had a career-high eight points, aided by 4-for-4 shooting from the foul line. Lincoln (4-7) received 16 points from sophomore guard Rayshonna Hill. Sophomore forward Sophia Johnson added 10 points for the Lady Lions. A day earlier, the Raptors were denied a spot in the championship game when freshman guard Upenda Morton scored the game-winning basket on a buzzer-beater with 0.4 remaining after taking an inbound-pass from senior guard Tiffany Johnson, lifting the Newport News Apprentice School over Rutgers-Camden, 68-66. The Builders hung on to defeat the Lady Raptors despite being outscored, 44-35, in the second half. The Apprentice School had built a 33-22 halftime lead before Rutgers-Camden mounted its comeback. Junior forward Ashley Barlow paced the Builders with a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore forward Brandi Coffer also added a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Morton finished with 12 points and sophomore guard Whitney Lassiter added 10 points for the Apprentice School. Rutgers-Camden received a big boost from the return of Rulon, who had missed three straight games with an injury. Rulon tied Barlow for game-high scoring honors with 19 points, while grabbing seven rebounds and adding a game-high four blocked shots. Her 19 points pushed her over 700 for her career, giving her 706. She also raised her career rebounding total to 475 and her career total of blocks to 158. Hafiz collected a double-double for the Raptors, notching 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Her previous rebounding high was nine, accomplished twice this season. Zimmitt and Stafford each added 11 points. Zimmitt also added four steals. Junior guard/forward Lisa Geiger (Gloucester City, NJ/Gloucester) added five rebounds, four points and a career-high five assists. In the Lady Raptors’ lone New Jersey Athletic Conference game of the week, Rutgers-Newark freshman forward Eni Fageyinbo scored a game-high 18 points to power the Scarlet Raiders over Rutgers-Camden, 62-56, in Camden Jan. 5. Rutgers-Newark’s win snapped a seven-game losing streak against Rutgers-Camden. The last Rutgers-Newark win in the series had come in Camden, 58-57 in overtime, on Feb. 19, 2000. The Scarlet Raiders went on a 10-4 run late in the first half to break the third and final tie, at 18-18, and grab a 28-22 halftime advantage. Fageyinbo had 10 of those 28 points in the opening half, and added eight in the second half. She also finished with seven rebounds, three steals and one assist before fouling out late in the contest. Rutgers-Newark, which features a young roster comprised almost entirely of freshmen and sophomores, also received 14 points from the lone upperclassman on the team, senior center Christyal Anderson. Anderson also added a game-high 12 rebounds. Freshman guard Nerlande Nicolas added 11 points and three assists for the Scarlet Raiders, who shot 29-for-59 (49.2 percent) from the field. They also out-rebounded the Scarlet Raptors, 49-27, to make up for 25 turnovers. Rutgers-Camden had 13 turnovers. For the Scarlet Raptors, Zimmitt notched nine first-half points on her way to a team-high 13. She also added a team-high eight rebounds. Hafiz and Stafford each added 12 points, while Hafiz also had three steals. Playing in her first game for Rutgers-Camden, freshman guard Miriam Lindemann (Cherry Hill, NJ/Akiba Hebrew Academy) went 3-for-3 from the field, all from three-point range, to finish with nine points. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
