College Basketball: Raptor of the Week: Karen Carter Monday, December 18, 2006 By Mike Ballard RutgersCamden Sports Correspondent RAPTOR OF THE WEEK Karen Carter (Pennsauken, NJ/Pennsauken) Senior forward Karen Carter notched a double-double in her only game of the week to help the Rutgers-Camden women’s basketball team head into the semester break on a winning note with a 57-45 victory at the College of Staten Island Dec. 12. Carter collected game-high totals of 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Lady Raptors, aided by 7-for-13 field goal shooting. MEN’S BASKETBALL (4-6 overall/ 0-3 NJAC) December Tues. 12 Baptist Bible College 71, Rutgers-Camden 64 Thurs. 14* Montclair State University 81, Rutgers-Camden 62 Sat. 16 Elizabethtown College 75, Rutgers-Camden 70 Upcoming Games January Wed. 3 at Juniata College 8 p.m. Fri. 5 Widener University 7 p.m. CYRUS D. JONES INVITATIONAL (at Lincoln University, PA) Sat. 6 Keystone College at Lincoln University 7 p.m. Sun. 7 Rutgers-Camden vs. Keystone College 2 p.m. Mon. 8 Rutgers-Camden at Lincoln University 4 p.m. Wed. 10 at Rowan University 6 p.m. Wed. 17 The College of New Jersey 8 p.m. Sat. 20 Rutgers-Newark 3 p.m. Wed. 24 at Kean University 8 p.m. Sat. 27 Ramapo College 3 p.m. Wed. 31 at Richard Stockton College 8 p.m. February Sat. 3 at New Jersey City University 8 p.m. Mon. 5 at Eastern University 8 p.m. Wed. 7 Rowan University 8 p.m. Wed. 14 at The College of New Jersey 8 p.m. Sat. 17 Kean University 3 p.m. The Rutgers-Camden men’s basketball team saw its losing streak stretch to five games, with three losses last week to close out the first semester, but the Scarlet Raptors also created more excitement in their home gym than the team has seen in years. During the Raptors’ final three games of 2006, Rutgers-Camden played a pair of home barn-burners before losing to Baptist Bible College (71-64, Dec. 12) and Elizabethtown College (75-70, Dec. 16). Sandwiched between those games was an 81-62 loss at New Jersey Athletic Conference rival Montclair State University (Dec. 14) which played closer than the final score. Rutgers-Camden closed December with its narrow loss to Elizabethtown. Blue Jays junior guard Chad Piersol scored a game-high 20 points, including 11 in the second half, as Elizabethtown rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit and defeated Rutgers-Camden, 75-70, in a non-conference game. The game was the final one for both teams until January. Elizabethtown takes a 4-5 record into the semester break after winning its second straight game. Rutgers-Camden stands at 4-6 with its fifth consecutive loss. In a wild and fast-paced first half which featured three ties and four lead changes, Rutgers-Camden took an early 10-4 lead before Elizabethtown roared back with a 13-point run to grab a 17-10 advantage. The run featured six points by Piersol. Rutgers-Camden answered with a run of its own, running out the first half on a 30-15 note to give the Scarlet Raptors a 40-32 halftime lead. Senior forward Sydney Francis (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson) and sophomore guard Wayne Smalls (Camden, NJ/Medical Arts) both scored 11 first-half points for the Raptors, while Piersol had nine in the opening half for the Blue Jays. Elizabethtown didn’t waste any time making up ground in the second half. The Blue Jays scored the first eight points of the second half, tying the game at 40-40 on a layup by senior forward Luke Ledyard 2:24 into the half. After the Scarlet Raptors took a 49-47 lead, the Blue Jays rattled off 13 consecutive points to open up a 60-49 advantage. That run was sparked by a pair of three-pointers from senior guard Kris Kieres. The Blue Jays built their lead to 65-53 before Rutgers-Camden answered with a 13-1 run. The Scarlet Raptors tied the game at 66-66 on a layup by Smalls with 4:26 remaining, but Elizabethtown took the lead for good moments later on a layup by junior forward Nick Kennedy. They increased their margin to 75-67 before Smalls hit a three-pointer at the buzzer for the final margin. In addition to Piersol, Kieres finished with 12 points and senior guard Greg Brizek added 10. The Blue Jays shot 52.9 percent from the floor (27-for-51), including 7-for-14 (50.0) from three-point range. Piersol led the long-range shooting, going 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. He was 6-for-11 overall and 4-for-5 from the foul line, in addition to tying for game-high rebounding honors with five. Junior guard Michael Schatzmann had team-high totals of four assists and four steals for the Blue Jays. Rutgers-Camden received 18 points apiece from Francis and Smalls, while freshman guard Josh Askew (Sicklerville, NJ/Winslow Township) added 16 points and a game-high and career-high six steals. Askew’s 16 points and four rebounds also tied his career highs. Smalls added five assists and senior guard Dane Nicholson (Pleasantville, NJ/Holy Spirit) tied Piersol with a game-high five rebounds. Rutgers-Camden shot 52.2 percent from the floor (24-for-46), but Elizabethtown held a 31-22 advantage off the boards. In a New Jersey Athletic Conference road game at Montclair State University Dec. 14, junior forward Jonathan Arthur tied his career high with 28 points and added 16 rebounds to lift the Red Hawks over the Raptors, 81-62. Sophomore guard Garan Dickson added 13 points, nine rebounds and four assists as the Red Hawks improved to 4-5 overall, snapping a two-game losing streak. They picked up their first win in the NJAC (1-2). Francis collected a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Scarlet Raptors. Rutgers-Camden junior guard Tarell Robinson (Irvington, NJ/St. Benedict’s Prep) hit a short jumper in the key with 5:54 remaining in the first half to pull the Raptors to within 24-20. Montclair State followed with a 23-7 run to close out the opening half. Freshman Donald Reid sparked the run with a three-pointer. Ken Dudley capped the run with a jumper with four seconds remaining to give MSU a 47-27 halftime lead. The Red Hawks went 8-for-10 from the floor during that spurt. Arthur had 15 points and Dickson added nine in the first half as Montclair State shot 55.2 percent (16-for-29) and held Rutgers-Camden to 36.4 percent (12-for-33) shooting. The Raptors were just 2-for-11 (18.2 percent) from three-point range in the opening half and 5-for-20 (25.0) for the game. Rutgers-Camden rallied early in the second half, opening the frame with a 14-4 run that cut the gap to 51-41 on a layup by sophomore guard Eric Richardson (Camden, NJ/Camden). The Raptors, who made seven of their first 14 shots in the second half, continued whittling the lead, cutting the gap to 56-53 with 9:55 remaining on a three-pointer by freshman guard Rory Thornton (Vauxhall, NJ/Union). Montclair State countered with a six-point run to make it 62-53 with 7:59 remaining. After a jumper by Nicholson made it a 64-58 game, the Red Hawks scored the next 10 points, including five each by freshman John Byrne and Arthur. Arthur went 10-for-13 from the floor and 8-for-11 from the line in tying his career high of 28 points sent against Plattsburgh State last December. His 16 rebounds were one shy of his career high set in the season opener against Hood College Nov. 17. Dickson notched 13 points and nine rebounds, while Byrne added 12 points for the Red Hawks. In addition to Francis, the Raptors received 10 points and a career-high four assists from Askew. He also had a game-high four steals, one shy of his career high. The Raptors opened the week watching sophomore guard Khristian Collins score 11 of his game-high 17 points in the second half to lift Baptist Bible College to a 71-64 non-conference win in Camden Dec. 12. Baptist Bible (4-3) led practically the whole way in the game that alternated runs between the two teams. The Defenders built a nine-point lead at 43-34 early in the second half before the Raptors rallied to take their lone lead of the night, 55-53, on a three-pointer by Thornton with 7:52 remaining. The Defenders answered with their own three-pointer by freshman forward Josh Workman to regain the lead at 56-55. They increased their lead to 65-61 before the Raptors rallied again on a three-pointer by Smalls, making it a 65-64 game with 54 seconds remaining. Following a Baptist Bible timeout, however, the Defenders’ Collins immediately nailed a three-pointer, sparking his team to a game-ending six-point run. They scored the last three points from the foul line on a free throw by Collins and a pair of foul shots with six seconds remaining by sophomore guard Justin Cook. In addition to Collins, junior guard Ken Clarke scored 11 points for the Defenders, while junior forward Tim O’Keefe added 10. Junior forward Nathan Penley and O’Keefe each had nine rebounds for the winners, while junior guard Drew Kidd dished off a game-high six assists. For Rutgers-Camden, Smalls collected 15 points to pass the 500-point plateau for his young career. Smalls, who increased his career mark to 513 points, added a game-high six steals. Sophomore forward Antoine Miller (Camden, NJ/Medical Arts) added 14 points, while Askew canned 12. Francis collected a game-high 11 rebounds for the Raptors, while Nicholson notched seven points to pass the 900-point level for his career, hiking his total to 903 points. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (4-5 overall/0-3 NJAC) December Tues. 12 at College of Staten Island 7 p.m. Upcoming Games January Wed. 3 at Juniata College 6 p.m. DIVERSIFIED INVITATIONAL (at University of Scranton, PA) Fri. 5 Goucher College vs. Stevens Tech 5 p.m. Rutgers-Camden vs. University of Scranton 7 p.m. Sat. 6 Consolation 1 p.m. Championship 3 p.m. Mon. 8 King’s College 6 p.m. Wed. 10 at Rowan University 8 p.m. Wed. 17 The College of New Jersey 6 p.m. Sat. 20 Rutgers-Newark 1 p.m. Wed. 24 at Kean University 6 p.m. Sat. 27 Ramapo College 1 p.m. Wed. 31 at Richard Stockton College 6 p.m. February Sat. 3 at New Jersey City University 6 p.m. Wed. 7 Rowan University 6 p.m. Mon. 12 at Gwynedd-Mercy College 7 p.m. Wed. 14 at The College of New Jersey 6 p.m. Sat. 17 Kean University 1 p.m. Senior forward Karen Carter (Pennsauken, NJ/Pennsauken) collected a double-double with game-high totals of 17 points and 10 rebounds as Rutgers-Camden defeated the College of Staten Island, 57-45, in a non-conference game Dec. 12 in Staten Island, N.Y. The Lady Raptors held a slim 26-25 halftime lead, but opened up the game in the second half, increasing their margin to as many as 15 points (55-40). The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for Rutgers-Camden, which improved to 4-5 heading into the holiday break. Carter went 7-for-13 from the field and 3-for-5 from the line in her big night, while junior forward Carmen Oyola (Hammonton, NJ/Hammonton) added 13 points and a team-high four steals. Rutgers-Camden held a 52-37 advantage off the boards, aided by eight rebounds from junior guard Imani Hafiz (Franklinville, NJ/Delsea Regional) and seven apiece from junior guard Krystal Jankowski (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) and junior forward Jennifer Christy (Malaga, NJ/Delsea Regional). Jankowski added a game-high four assists, while Christy went 2-for-2 from the foul line to increase her latest string to 10 consecutive successful foul shots. She is shooting an amazing 31-for-33 (.939) from the foul line this season, including a program-record 19 straight foul shots to open the season. For the 3-5 Dolphins, sophomore guards Nicole Estrada and Melanie D’Ambrosi scored 14 and 11 points, respectively. D’Ambrosi added a team-high eight rebounds and a game-high seven steals.