Raptor of the Week: Amir Fantroyal

RAPTOR OF THE WEEK
Amir Fantroyal (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek)

Freshman guard Amir Fantroyal continued his fine rookie play for the Rutgers-Camden men’s basketball team last week, averaging 13.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 4.0 steals in a pair of New Jersey Athletic Conference games. In a loss at Rowan Jan. 26, Fantroyal had a game-high 14 points and tied for the team lead with two assists. In a home loss against No. 18 Ramapo Jan. 29, he tied for game-high honors with three assists and five steals, while adding 12 points, four rebounds and one blocked shot. The assist, steal and block totals all tied his career high. It capped a big week for the guard, who was named as the NJAC Rookie of the Week on Jan. 24.

MEN’S BASKETBALL (2-17/0-10)
Wed., Jan. 26 Rowan University 91, Rutgers-Camden 59
Sat., Jan. 29 Ramapo College 88, Rutgers-Camden 70

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Mon., Jan. 31 at Rutgers University-Newark 8 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 2 at The College of New Jersey 8 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 5 Montclair State University 3 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 9 at Richard Stockton University 8 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 12 Kean University 3 p.m.

The Rutgers-Camden men’s basketball team showed marked improvement over the course of its two New Jersey Athletic Conference games last week, but the Scarlet Raptors still dropped a pair of NJAC contests, losing at Rowan, 91-59, Jan. 26 and dropping an 88-70 home decision Jan. 29 against Ramapo, the 18th-ranked team in the d3hoops.com national Top 25 poll.

Sophomore guard Antoine Pryor collected 16 points to lead five Ramapo College players in double figures as the Roadrunners toppled the Raptors. Ramapo, which improved to 15-2 overall and a conference-leading 9-1 in the NJAC, has won 10 straight games. Rutgers-Camden, which earlier in the season suffered a 119-64 defeat at Ramapo, fell to 2-17 and 0-10 with its seventh straight loss.

In addition to Pryor, junior guard Quameir Harding, senior guard Derrick Holley and junior forward Noel Colon each added 13 points for Ramapo. Senior guard Amir Wright added 11 points, tied for game-high honors with five steals and tied for team-high honors with eight rebounds.

For the Scarlet Raptors, senior guard Tyrone Rucker (Pennsauken, NJ/Pennsauken) had a game-high 23 points and added four steals, while freshman guard Amir Fantroyal (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek) had 12 points and tied for game-high honors with five steals.

Junior guard Timothy Harris (Burlington, NJ/Burlington Township) added 10 points for the Raptors, while junior forward Josh Kennedy (Westmont, NJ/Haddon Township) collected a game-high nine rebounds and added eight points.

Ramapo built a 49-34 halftime lead as Pryor notched 11 of his points in the first half. The Scarlet Raptors cut the gap to 49-40 by scoring the first six points of the second half, before Ramapo rattled off the next eight points to increase the margin to 17. The closest the Raptors came after that was 10 points (67-57).

Ramapo shot 47.1 percent (32-for-68) from the field, while Rutgers-Camden was 22-for-50 (44.0). The Raptors made 32 turnovers to the Roadrunners’ 26, and Ramapo held a huge 42-30 edge off the boards.

Rutgers-Camden opened the week with a 91-59 loss at Rowan University Jan. 26 as senior center Brandon King collected a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Profs.

Senior center Evan Johnson came off the bench to lead the Profs in scoring with 13 points. He also added nine rebounds for Rowan, which held a 50-30 advantage off the boards.

Freshman guard/forward Matt Byrnes added 11 points and senior guard Bob Weir notched 10 for the Profs, who placed four players in double figures and 13 players in the scoring column.

Holding a 26-21 lead late in the first half, the Profs went on a 10-3 run to grab a 36-24 halftime lead. They scored the first seven points of the second half and led by as many as 37 points (86-49 and 88-51) in the final 20 minutes.

For Rutgers-Camden, freshman guard Amir Fantroyal (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek) scored a game-high 14 points, while Rucker added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (6-13/1-9)
Wed., Jan. 26 Rowan University 85, Rutgers-Camden 58
Sat., Jan. 29 Ramapo College 61, Rutgers-Camden 53

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Mon., Jan. 31 at Rutgers University-Newark 6 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 2 at The College of New Jersey 6 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 5 Montclair State University 1 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 9 at Richard Stockton University 6 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 12 Kean University 1 p.m.

Like the men’s basketball team, the Rutgers-Camden women remained in the cellar of the NJAC after dropping a 61-53 home decision against Ramapo Jan. 29. The Roadrunners had started the day one game ahead of the Lady Raptors.

That game was the second NJAC loss in a week for Rutgers-Camden, which dropped an 85-58 decision at Rowan University Jan. 29.

Sophomore guard Keona Palmer collected a game-high 20 points and tied for game-high honors with nine rebounds to lead Ramapo College over Rutgers-Camden.

The Roadrunners improved to 7-10 overall and 3-7 in the conference, snapping an eight-game losing streak. Rutgers-Camden, which has lost five straight games, fell to 6-13 and 1-9.

Ramapo also received 11 points, eight rebounds and a game-high four steals from junior guard Lisa Vargas, while freshman guard Natalie Zacharias and senior guard Janine Cappadona each added 10 points.

In a first half which featured two ties and three lead changes, the Lady Raptors broke a 21-21 deadlock on a pair of foul shots by junior forward Carmen Zimmitt (Woodstown, NJ/Woodstown) with 2:54 remaining and went on to take a 28-27 lead into the break. Rutgers-Camden received nine first-half points from sophomore guard Kelly Stafford (Gloucester City, NJ/Gloucester), while Ramapo had 12 points from Palmer.

The two teams traded leads seven times in the second half and were tied on three other occasions before the Roadrunners grabbed the lead for good, 55-53, with 2:13 remaining on a field goal by junior center Lisa Fischman.

For the Lady Raptors, Stafford finished with 13 points, while junior guard Lisa Geiger (Gloucester City, NJ/Gloucester) notched 12 and junior center Megan Rulon (Sewell, NJ/Clearview Regional) had 11 points, nine rebounds and a game-high six blocked shots. Rulon’s blocks vaulted her into second place on the program’s career list. She now has 194 blocks, passing Joy Silver (1999-2003), who had 192. The career leader at Rutgers-Camden is Kamilah Byrd (1993-97), with 291 blocks.

In their opening game of the week, the Raptors dropped an 85-58 NJAC decision against Rowan University in Glassboro. Senior guard Jaime McCormack collected a double-double of 21 points and 11 assists, and added a game-high five steals and team-high eight rebounds for the Profs.

The teams traded leads twice and were tied on two other occasions early in the game before the Profs took the lead for good, 11-8, on a three-pointer by junior guard Sheemea Carr at 11:43. That trey was part of a nine-point run, started by a McCormack layup that took the Profs from an 8-6 deficit to a 15-8 advantage, giving Rowan the lead for good. By halftime, the Profs built their margin to 40-26, and they led by as many as 32 points in the second half (79-47 and 82-50).

Rowan also received a game-high 22 points from senior guard Kami Bernardo, while Carr added 14 points and seven assists.

For Rutgers-Camden, junior forward Sarah Thorpe (Millville, NJ/Cumberland Regional) notched five points and set career highs with 10 rebounds (a game-high total) and two steals. She also added one assist. Her previous rebounding high was five, accomplished twice, most recently against St. Mary’s (Jan. 17).

The Raptors received 12 points and three blocked shots Rulon, while Stafford notched nine points.

Junior guard Tanishia Greene (Georgetown, SC/Georgetown) had five points, set a career high with two assists and tied her career high of three steals.

Rowan shot 48.6 percent from the field (34-for-70), while Rutgers-Camden shot 33.9 percent (20-for-59). The Profs held a 48-38 advantage off the boards