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Rutgers Camden Men's Basketball Sweeps Stockton

January 25, 2024

On Wednesday, Rutgers Camden (9-9) faced Stockton (12-6) and pulled off a great upset with a 77-71 victory.

This now leaves Rutgers with a winning record. The Scarlet Raptors have had a back-and-forth season when it comes to wins and losses. Whereas, the Ospreys have been on fire recently. Since coming off winter break, Stockton had gone 4-1, up until Rutgers Camden defeated them. The Raptors swept the Ospreys in the two game regular series for only the third time in program history.

The game started off strong, with the Scarlet Raptors winning the opening tip-off. They put up incredible defense with steals, rebounds, and blocks just within the first few minutes. Offensively they started out with an early lead, making constant maneuvers to the basket.

By the 11-minute mark DJ Campbell (#4) tied up the game for the Ospreys, which made him the third person in Stockton history to reach 2,000 points in his career. After the initial tie, the game became very back and forth, with multiple lead changes. Ultimately Stockton was able to take control of the first half and led 38-33 at halftime.

With the game being so close both teams were hungry for a win. The rivalry of these two teams started back in the 1970s, making this game even more important for them. Rutgers Camden was able to tie the game back up 42-42 early on in the second half, with a lay-up from Cherif Kanoute (#23). Stockton regained their lead shortly after Kanoute’s tie, however by the 12-minute mark Rutgers took the lead for good with a layup from Jordan Trusty-Smith (#4). Stockton put up a good fight, but just could not come back after the final lead shift.

Both teams' passion shined through with intense defense, and numerous shooting attempts. Many defensive attempts led to fouls for both teams, however Rutgers scored 17/20 from the line and Stockton scored 13/16.

From the floor, the Raptors made 27/50 and the Ospreys made 26/64. Cameron Downs (#15) led the raptors in scoring with 22 points. Kanoute led the defense with 3 offensive rebounds and 7 defensive stops. With incredible plays on both sides of the court Rutgers Camden was able to come out victorious.

The Scarlet Raptors will host Rutgers Newark on Jan. 27th (1pm).