College Basketball: Raptor of the Week: Antoine Miller Monday, January 30, 2006 By Mike Ballard RutgersCamden Sports Correspondent RAPTOR OF THE WEEK Antoine Miller (Camden, NJ/Medical Arts) Rutgers-Camden freshman center/forward Antoine Miller earns Raptor of the Week honors after a fine performance in a pair of losses last week for the men’s basketball team. Miller notched 10 points, four rebounds and one assist in a home defeat against Rowan Jan. 25, including a 6-for-8 performance at the foul line. He then scored a game-high and career-high 25 points, aided by 11-for-12 shooting from the foul line, in a loss at Ramapo College Jan. 28. He also added six rebounds and three assists. For the week, Miller averaged 17.5 points and shot a red-hot 17-for-20 (85 percent) from the foul line. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (5-14/1-11 NJAC) Wed. 25 Rutgers-Camden 71, Rowan University 60 Sat. 28 Ramapo College 66, Rutgers-Camden 40 UPCOMING SCHEDULE: February Wed. 1 The College of New Jersey 6 p.m. Sat. 4 at Montclair State University 4 p.m. Wed. 8 Richard Stockton College 6 p.m. Sat. 11 at Kean University 1 p.m. Wed. 15 New Jersey City University 6 p.m. Sat. 18 William Paterson University 1 p.m. The Rutgers-Camden women’s basketball team snapped its six-game losing streak and collected its first New Jersey Athletic Conference victory of the season while splitting a pair of conference games last week. The Lady Raptors posted a 71-60 home victory over Rowan University Jan. 25 before dropping a 66-40 decision at Ramapo College Jan. 28. In the victory, Lady Raptors senior guard Carmen Zimmitt (Woodstown, NJ/Woodstown) scored 16 of her game-high 22 points in the second half to lead Rutgers-Camden. The triumph snapped Rowan’s four-game winning streak in the series. It was the first Rutgers-Camden win over Rowan since a 70-49 victory in Glassboro on Feb. 20, 2003. The Profs lead the all-time series, 35-10. Rutgers-Camden led by as many as 10 points, 20-10, in the first half before Rowan fought back, taking a short-lived 29-28 lead on a jumper by sophomore guard Nicole Jones near the end of the half. Rutgers-Camden regained the lead on a basket by senior center Megan Rulon (Sewell, NJ/Clearview Regional), taking a 30-29 edge into halftime. Jones gave the Profs their last lead of the game at 33-32 before Rutgers-Camden sophomore guard Krystal Jankowski (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) put the Raptors ahead to stay, 34-33, sparking a 10-point run. Rulon finished with a double-double of 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while adding a game-high eight blocked shots. Her first block of the night was the 300th of her career, and she went on to increase her career-high total to 307 blocks. Zimmitt finished two points shy of her career high, accomplished against Ramapo College (Dec. 3, 2005). She also collected four steals, tying Jankowski and sophomore guard Imani Hafiz (Franklinville, NJ/Delsea Regional) for game-high honors. Zimmitt’s 22 points give her 721 for her career, lifting her over the 700-point plateau. Hafiz and Jankowski notched 12 points apiece and Jankowski added a career-high 11 assists to record a double-double. For the Profs, senior guard Sheemea Carr notched 15 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals. Sophomore center Katie Shaw added 13 points, while junior forward Lauren Byrne had a team-high 10 rebounds. Three days later, Ramapo scored the first 12 points of the game and went on to defeat the visiting Lady Raptors, 66-40. The Roadrunners saw sophomore center Alison Beller score four points in the early 12-0 run. Beller finished with 12 points, tying freshman teammate Erica Maclin for game-high honors. Rutgers-Camden finally broke its scoreless drought on a jumper by Jankowski four minutes into the game. After Ramapo built its lead to 13 points, at 21-8, the Lady Raptors whittled the margin to 29-25 with a 17-8 run before halftime. Rulon had four points in the Raptors’ run, and collected all five of her blocked shots in the first half, raising her program-record career total to 312. Jankowski had eight points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals in the opening half for the Lady Raptors. Beller collected 10 points and seven rebounds for the Roadrunners in the first 20 minutes. Ramapo pulled away in the second half after building its lead to 39-32 with 11 minutes remaining. The Roadrunners went on a 27-8 run to finish the game, highlighted by a pair of Maclin three-pointers. In addition to 12 points apiece from Maclin and Beller, Ramapo received 10 points from junior guard Keona Palmer. Beller grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, while sophomore guard Natasha Gross had nine steals. For the Raptors, Jankowski had 10 points, seven rebounds, eight steals and five assists. Rulon finished with nine points, 10 rebounds and five blocks as she continued her climb up the program’s all-time charts. The nine points lifted Rulon past Maureen McGovern (1,154 points from 1994-99) and into fifth place on the career scoring chart. Rulon, who now has 1,155 points, moved past McGovern on a layup with four minutes remaining. Rulon’s 10 rebounds also moved her past Kate Cranston (761 rebounds from 1997-2001) and into fifth place on the career charts with 770 boards. Rutgers-Camden, which falls to 5-14 overall and 1-11 in the NJAC, also received eight points from junior forward Karen Carter (Pennsauken, NJ/Pennsauken). MEN’S BASKETBALL (1-17/0-12 NJAC) Wed. 25 Rowan University 77, Rutgers-Camden 60 Sat. 28 Ramapo College 121, Rutgers-Camden 79 UPCOMING SCHEDULE: February Wed. 1 The College of New Jersey 8 p.m. Sat. 4 at Montclair State University 2 p.m. Wed. 8 Richard Stockton College 8 p.m. Sat. 11 at Kean University 3 p.m. Wed. 15 New Jersey City University 8 p.m. Sat. 18 William Paterson University 3 p.m. Freshman forward/center Antoine Miller (Camden, NJ/Medical Arts) had a fine all-around week for the Scarlet Raptors and was among three players to set a career scoring high, but Rutgers-Camden dropped a pair of NJAC games during the week to remain winless in the conference. The Scarlet Raptors lost a home game against Rowan University, 77-60, Jan. 25, before falling on the road at Ramapo College, 121-79, Jan. 28. In the loss to Rowan, sophomore guard/forward Matt Byrnes collected a game-high 27 points, including five three-pointers, to spark the Profs’ win. Rowan has won the last eight games against Rutgers-Camden and 33 of the last 34 contests to take a 75-27 lead in the all-time series. Byrnes, who scored 31 points when the Profs toppled the Raptors in Glassboro earlier this season (88-50, Nov. 30), had 13 points by halftime as Rowan grabbed a 41-27 lead. The Profs took the lead for good with a 12-point run late in the half, turning a 16-13 deficit into a 28-16 lead. Freshman forward Rahim Shiver added a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the Profs, while freshman guard Billy Care notched 11 points. The Profs shot 50 percent (29-for-58), including 7-for-15 (46.7) from three-point range. They also out-rebounded the Raptors, 45-27. Rutgers-Camden shot 36.2 percent (21-for-58), including 8-for-24 (33.3) from three-point range. For Rutgers-Camden, freshman guard Wayne Smalls (Camden, NJ/Medical Arts) collected 15 points, while senior guard Timothy Harris (Burlington, NJ/Burlington Township) canned 11 and Miller added 10. In Mahwah, New Jersey, three days later, Ramapo College raced to a 65-36 halftime lead and went on to defeat Rutgers-Camden, 121-79, as the Roadrunners nearly matched the most points ever allowed by the Raptors in program history. Ramapo’s 121 points were one shy of the Rutgers-Camden record for points surrendered, which came in a 122-79 loss to Morgan State on Feb. 22, 1983. The Roadrunners tied the second-most points ever allowed by Rutgers-Camden, which came in a 121-50 loss to Philadelphia Textile Jan. 29, 1964. Ramapo’s output also marked the third time the Scarlet Raptors have allowed over 100 points this season. The Roadrunners have been involved in two of those games, including a 104-58 win in Camden Dec. 3. Rutgers-Camden held its lone lead of the night at 2-0, but Ramapo scored 15 of the next 17 points to grab a 15-4 lead. A jumper by sophomore forward Drew Bernier (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) cut the lead to nine points, but that was the final time the Raptors trailed by single digits. Ramapo led by 31 points, 65-34, before the Raptors’ sophomore forward Michael Clay (Willingboro, NJ/Burlington County Tech) scored at the first-half buzzer to make it 65-36. Ramapo ended up placing 14 players in the scoring column, including five in double digits. Freshman guard Timothy Wesley paced the Roadrunners with 14 points, while junior guard Antoine Pryor and junior guard John Wojcik each added 12 points. Junior forward Jamall Jenkins and sophomore forward Mike Malko each added 10 points for the Roadrunners. Ramapo shot 52.9 percent (45-for-85), including 50 percent (10-for-20) from three-point range. The Scarlet Raptors shot 43.3 percent (29-for-67), including 12.5 (1-for-8) from three-point range. Ramapo also out-rebounded Rutgers-Camden, 46-34. Rutgers-Camden received a career-high 25 points from Miller, including a torrid 11-for-12 from the foul line. Bernier added a career-high 17 points, while Clay canned a career-high 16 points. Sophomore guard Amir Fantroyal (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek) also scored 16 points for Rutgers-Camden. Fantroyal and Clay each had eight rebounds to share game-high honors. Bernier collected five steals to share game-high honors with the Roadrunners’ senior guard Quameir Harding. INDOOR TRACK UPCOMING SCHEDULE: February Sat. 4 at Frank Colden Invitational @ Ursinus College 10 a.m. Sun. 19 at NJAC Championships @ New York City Armory 8:45 a.m. The Rutgers-Camden indoor track team opened its maiden varsity season with some fine performances at Lebanon Valley College’s LVC Invitational Jan. 28. Freshmen Jonathan Salamon (Bridgewater, NJ/St. Joseph-Metuchen) and Travis Stewart (Runnemede, NJ/Triton Regional) each won one event and ran a leg on the winning 4x800-meter relay team for the Scarlet Raptors. Salamon won the 800-meter run in a time of 2:05.8, while Stewart captured the 5,000-meter run in a time of 17:15.1. They also joined freshman Darryl Mendillo (Galloway, NJ/Absegami) and senior Chris McGowan (Barrington, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) on the winning 4x800-meter team (9:08.70). McGowan ran the first leg of the relay, followed by Stewart, Mendillo and anchor Salamon. That 4x800 indoor time was better than the outdoor program record of 9:30.68, set last spring. In the 55-meter dash, freshman Patrick Eigbe (Galloway, NJ/Absegami), finished 10th (7.0), senior Taiwan Lamb (Atlantic City, NJ/Atlantic City) was 11th (7.1) and freshman Michael McClain (Sewell, NJ/Bishop Eustace) was 21st (7.9). Eigbe finished eighth in the 200-meter dash (25.9), while Lamb was 15th (26.7). Lamb also finished fifth in the long jump (20-02.00), and Mendillo finished seventh (57.1) in the 400-meter dash. Freshman Julie Grochowski (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) was the lone competing Lady Raptor. She finished eighth in the women’s 200-meter dash (32.0) and fifth in the women’s 55-meter hurdles (10.6). Rutgers-Camden returns to action Saturday at Ursinus College, where it will compete in the Frank Colden Invitational beginning at 10 a.m.