College Basketball: Raptor of the Week: Megan Rulon Monday, January 2, 2006 By Mike Ballard RutgersCamden Sports Correspondent RAPTOR OF THE WEEK Megan Rulon (Sewell, NJ/Clearview Regional) Women's basketball center Megan Rulon has been a fixture as the Raptor of the Week during her senior season. She earned her third Rutgers-Camden weekly honor in five weeks after another standout performance on the court, where she was named to the all-tournament team at the South Padre Island (Texas) Shootout Dec. 28-29. Rulon averaged 17.5 points, 15.5 rebounds and 6.5 blocked shots in her two games in Texas while earning her second all-tourney berth this season. She also was on the tournament team at the season-opening Jim Crawley Classic at Frostburg State University Nov. 18-19. In a loss to Concordia University Dec. 28, Rulon collected game-high totals of 20 rebounds, 18 points and 10 blocked shots to record her second career triple-double. Her 20 rebounds set a career high. She added game-high totals of 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in a consolation game win over Juniata College Dec. 29. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (4-7/0-5 NJAC) December at South Padre Island (TX) Shootout Wed. 28 Lakeland (WI) College 64, Juniata College 60 Concordia (TX) University 52, Rutgers-Camden 50 Thur. 29 Consolation game: Rutgers-Camden 58, Juniata College 51 Championship game: Lakeland College 72, Concordia 52 UPCOMING SCHEDULE: January Mon. 2 at Goucher College 7 p.m. . Wed. 4 Montclair State University 6 p.m. Wed. 11 at New Jersey City University 6 p.m. Sat. 14 Kean University 1 p.m. Wed. 18 at William Paterson University 8 p.m. Sat. 21 Rutgers-Newark 1 p.m. Wed. 25 Rowan University 6 p.m. Sat. 28 at Ramapo College 1 p.m. Senior center Megan Rulon (Sewell, NJ/Clearview Regional) collected game-high totals of 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots to earn a spot on the All-South Padre Island Shootout tournament team as Rutgers-Camden defeated Juniata College, 58-51, in the consolation game Dec. 29 in South Padre Island, Texas. Rulon collected 35 points, 31 rebounds and 13 blocked shots in the two-day tournament for the Lady Raptors, who lost their opening-round game to Concordia University at Austin (Texas), 52-50, Dec. 28. Rutgers-Camden led Juniata most of the game, taking the lead for good, 14-13, with 7:00 remaining in the first half. The Lady Raptors outscored the Eagles, 12-2, over those final seven minutes to take a 26-15 halftime lead. In addition to Rulon, sophomore guard Imani Hafiz (Franklinville, NJ/Delsea Regional) had 11 points and six steals for the Raptors. Senior forward Carmen Zimmitt (Woodstown, NJ/Woodstown) and sophomore guard Krystal Jankowski (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) each had 10 points for Rutgers-Camden, with Jankowski adding six rebounds and Zimmitt hauling down four rebounds. For the Eagles, senior forward Katie O’Brien and sophomore forward Jess Winemiller each collected 10 points. In the first-round defeat to Concordia, Rulon collected the second triple-double of her season and career, but the Tornados hung on for the victory as freshman forward Kassandra Bills scored 17 points and sophomore center Christine Thompson added 11 points and a team-high 13 rebounds. Rulon had an outstanding night in the losing effort for the Lady Raptors, notching game-high totals of 18 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocked shots to record her second career triple-double. The first came at Valley Forge Christian College Nov. 28, 2005. Rulon’s 20 rebounds were a career high, passing the 19 she notched in that Valley Forge Christian game. Rutgers-Camden fell into a 31-17 halftime hole after taking an early 8-2 edge. Although the Lady Raptors outshot the Tornados from the field in the game (40.0 percent to 26.8), Concordia went 12-for-22 from the foul line to Rutgers-Camden’s 5-for-12, and the Raptors made 31 turnovers to the Tornados’ 16. Rutgers-Camden roared back in the second half, taking the lead at 39-38 on a jumper by Rulon with 8:38 remaining. Another Rulon jumper gave the Raptors a 50-49 lead with 2:27 remaining, but that was the last basket the Raptors managed. The Tornados took the lead for good at 51-50 on a jumper by Bills with 1:11 remaining. In addition to Rulon, Jankowski had 11 points and a game-high five assists for the Raptors, while Zimmitt notched 10 points and six rebounds. The 10 points gave her 608 in her career, lifting her over the 600-career plateau. Hafiz added eight rebounds and tied for game-high honors with four steals for Rutgers-Camden. MEN'S BASKETBALL (1-9/0-5 NJAC) December at Colorado College Holiday Challenge Wed. 28 Colorado College 77, Rutgers-Camden 54 Thur. 29 Worcester State College 91, Rutgers-Camden 71 UPCOMING SCHEDULE: January Wed. 4 Montclair State University 8 p.m. Sat. 7 Widener University 1 p.m. Wed. 11 at New Jersey City University 8 p.m. Sat. 14 Kean University 3 p.m. Wed. 18 at William Paterson University 6 p.m. Sat. 21 Rutgers-Newark 3 p.m. Wed. 25 Rowan University 8 p.m. Sat. 28 at Ramapo College 3 p.m. The Rutgers-Camden men’s basketball team struggled in the thin air of Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the Colorado College Holiday Challenge Dec. 28-29, but freshman guard Wayne Smalls (Camden, NJ/Medical Arts) wasn’t hurt by the altitude. Smalls scored 48 points in his two games, although the Scarlet Raptors lost to both Colorado College (77-54, Dec. 28) and Worcester State (MA) College (91-71, Dec. 29). In their first game in Colorado, the Raptors saw freshman guard Nate Brodman score 20 points and senior forward Adam Mares add 18 points and game-high totals of 12 rebounds, five assists and seven blocked shots as host Colorado College defeated Rutgers-Camden. The host Tigers took a 32-28 halftime lead and pulled away after the break with a 45-26 second-half run. Colorado College shot 50.8 percent from the field (31-for-61) in the game, including 54.5 (18-for-33) in the second half. Rutgers-Camden shot only 33.3 percent (20-for-60) for the game and was 30.8 (8-for-26) in the second half. The Tigers also out-rebounded the Scarlet Raptors, 41-24. Rutgers-Camden received 20 points from Smalls, who tied the Tigers’ Brodman for game-high honors. Junior guard Dane Nicholson (Pleasantville, NJ/Holy Spirit) added 15. In the loss to Worcester State, the Lancers’ senior guard Tyson Drayton and junior forward Mark Retallic each scored 27 points to overcome a game-high 28-point performance by Smalls. Smalls went 4-for-8 from three-point range in the game and 7-for-14 from long range on the two-game road trip. The Lancers shot 64.7 percent (33-for-51) from the field as Retallic hit 11 of 14 shots and Drayton went 10-for-13. The two Worcester State sharpshooters also0 combined to go 9-for-11 from the foul line, including 5-for-5 by Retallic, as the Lancers shot 70 percent from the charity stripe (21-for-30). Worcester State, which held a 37-26 halftime lead, also out-rebounded Rutgers-Camden, 41-20. Retallic led the way with a game-high nine rebounds. Drayton, meanwhile, had game-high totals of eight assists and four steals. Nicholson added 12 points, while sophomore forward Michael Clay (Willingboro, NJ/Burlington County Tech) notched a career-high 11 points for the Raptors. Smalls, who shot 16-for-34 (47.1 percent) from the field over the two games, also went 9-for-10 (90.0 percent) from the foul line. His 28 points were five points shy of his career-high 33 set against Valley Forge Christian College in the Raptors’ lone win of the season, Nov. 28.