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Monday, February 6, 2006 By Mike Ballard RAPTOR OF THE WEEK Freshman guard Wayne Smalls had another fine week for the Rutgers-Camden men’s basketball team as he raised his scoring average from 18.0 to 18.7 points per game by scoring 50 points in a pair of New Jersey Athletic Conference contests. Smalls scored 20 points against The College of New Jersey Feb. 1, aided by 10-for-11 shooting from the foul line. He added a 30-point performance against Montclair State University Feb. 4, giving him four 30-point games in his first collegiate season. It’s the third Raptor of the Week honor for Smalls this year. He also won the honor Jan. 9 and Jan. 23. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (5-16/1-13 NJAC) Wed. 1 The College of New Jersey 79, Rutgers-Camden 50 UPCOMING SCHEDULE: February Wed. 8 Richard Stockton College 6 p.m. The Rutgers-Camden women’s basketball team saw several fine individual performances and several players close in on season and career milestones, but the Lady Raptors dropped a pair of New Jersey Athletic Conference games during the week as their losing streak stretched to three games. Rutgers-Camden dropped a 79-50 home decision against The College of New Jersey Feb. 1 and followed with a 73-53 loss at Montclair State University Feb. 4. Junior forward Stephanie Machin scored 18 points and added eight rebounds in Montclair State’s victory. Rutgers-Camden jumped out to a 5-0 lead and held an 11-6 edge after freshman guard Melissa Whitten (Gloucester City, NJ/Gloucester City) hit a three-pointer with 13:30 remaining in the first half. Montclair State, however, bounced back with a 10-0 run to take the lead, and held a 28-23 edge at halftime. Rutgers-Camden had a 9-3 run early in the second half, capped by a three-pointer from sophomore guard Miriam Lindemann (Cherry Hill, NJ/Akiba Hebrew Academy, PA) to tie the game at 32-32 with 16:48 remaining. The Red Hawks responded with an 11-0 run, sparked by a three-pointer from sophomore guard Jessica to take the lead for good. The Raptors only managed to pull within nine points the rest of the way. Junior forward Ferin Catlett contributed 11 points to the Montclair State win, while blocking a pair of shots. Sophomore guard Jessica Garrabrant had a game-high 11 rebounds. For Rutgers-Camden, senior center Megan Rulon (Sewell, NJ/Clearview Regional) notched 14 points, six rebounds and a game-high eight blocked shots, giving her 109 for the season, the third-highest season total in program history. She already is the career leader in blocked shots, stretching her mark to 320. Sophomore guard Imani Hafiz (Franklinville, NJ/Delsea Regional) had 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and a game-high seven steals, giving her 89 steals on the year. She is 11 shy of becoming only the third Lady Raptor to reach 100 steals in one season. Senior guard Carmen Zimmitt (Woodstown, NJ/Woodstown) collected 10 rebounds for the Lady Raptors while playing in her 98th career game. She should become only the second player in program history to reach the century mark in games played next Saturday at Kean University. Zimmitt also went 2-for-5 from the foul line as her streak of 15 consecutive foul shots came to an end. Lindemann, meanwhile, scored 11 points and went 2-for-2 from the line as she stretched her season-long perfect mark from the charity stripe to 15-for-15. In the first game of the week, TCNJ senior guard Alexa Shields scored 12 of her game-high 16 points in the opening half to power the Lions to a conference win in Camden. TCNJ has won five straight games against Rutgers-Camden and holds a 37-7 lead in the all-time series. TCNJ never trailed in a game that was tied only once, at 2-2. The Lions broke that deadlock on a three-pointer by junior guard Megan Hueter and opened up a 34-21 lead by halftime. TCNJ received 12 first-half points from Shields, while senior center Danica Miller had eight. For the Lady Raptors, freshman center Crystal Pezzano (Brockton, MA/Brockton) had six points in the opening half. Shields finished with 16 points, while Miller canned 14 and junior guard Margo Buchalski added 12 for the Lions. TCNJ shot 49.3 percent (34-for-69) from the field, including 50 percent (10-for-20) from three-point range. Miller and junior forward Breanne Depken each had seven rebounds to pace the Lions, who held a 42-31 advantage off the boards. For Rutgers-Camden, Pezzano finished with 14 points, while Whitten added 10. Pezzano also had a game-high eight rebounds, tying her career high set at Valley Forge Christian College Nov. 28, 2005. TCNJ senior guard Tiara Simpkins and Rutgers-Camden sophomore guard Krystal Jankowski (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) each had a game-high five assists. TCNJ’s Depken notched a game-high five steals. MEN’S BASKETBALL (1-19/0-14 NJAC) UPCOMING SCHEDULE: February Wed. 8 Richard Stockton College 8 p.m. The Rutgers-Camden men’s basketball team played two more strong New Jersey Athletic Conference teams during the week as they saw their losing streak stretch to 16 games. The Scarlet Raptors dropped a 77-59 home decision against The College of New Jersey Feb. 1 and lost at Montclair State University, 91-69, Feb. 4. Montclair State University senior forward Gian Paul Gonzalez collected game-high totals of 31 points and 12 rebounds in 26 minutes of action as the Red Hawks toppled Rutgers-Camden. Montclair State has won 27 of the last 28 meetings against Rutgers-Camden to take a 37-8 lead in the all-time series. Gonzalez had 23 of his points in the first half for the Red Hawks, who opened the game by scoring the first nine points. Rutgers-Camden cut the gap to 13-9 on a three-pointer by sophomore forward Drew Bernier (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) before the Red Hawks went on a 16-2 run to put the game away. Sophomore forward Jonathan Arthur added 13 points and 12 rebounds for Montclair State, while freshman guard/forward Elliot Solop scored a career-high 14 points and junior center Eric Sylvester added 13. Led by the 12 rebounds apiece from Gonzalez and Arthur, MSU out-rebounded Rutgers-Camden, 58-35. MSU shot 50.7 percent (36-for-71) for the game, while Rutgers-Camden shot 34.2 percent (27-for-79). The Scarlet Raptors received 30 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals from freshman guard Wayne Smalls (Camden, NJ/Medical Arts), giving Smalls his fourth 30-point game this season. Sophomore guard Amir Fantroyal (Franklinville, NJ/Delsea Regional) tied his career scoring high with 18 points, while adding three assists, three rebounds and two steals. His career high was set Feb. 9, 2005 at Richard Stockton College. Bernier and freshman center/forward Antoine Miller (Camden, NJ/Medical Arts) paced the Raptors with eight rebounds apiece. It was a career high for Bernier, whose previous high of four was accomplished three times. Earlier in the week, TCNJ senior forward Scott Findlay scored 26 points to move into third place on the program’s all-time scoring list and junior forward Matt Diamond added 21 points as the Lions defeated the Scarlet Raptors in Camden. Findlay, who added 14 rebounds to record his 37th career double-double, raised his career scoring total to 1,533 points. He moved past Kevin Ryan (1,514 points from 1986-90) into third place on the Lions’ career scoring chart. In nine career games against Rutgers-Camden, he scored 170 points for an 18.9 average against the Raptors. The College of New Jersey has won eight straight games and 38 of the last 39 against Rutgers-Camden to take a 50-9 lead in the all-time series. Findlay, who recorded his 82nd double-digit scoring game in 101 career outings, notched the Lions’ first six points of the game as they raced to a 6-1 lead. They built a lead as large as 15-5 before the Raptors came back, slicing the gap to 25-24 late in the first half. TCNJ scored the last four points of the half to take a 29-24 lead at the break. Diamond had 14 of his points in the first half, while Findlay added nine. For Rutgers-Camden, Smalls notched 12 points in the opening half on his way to a team-high 20. TCNJ broke the game open in the second half, scoring 12 of the first 15 points, sparked by a three-pointer from senior guard Jason Stallworth moments into the half. That run pushed the Lions’ lead to 41-27 and the Raptors never came closer than 10 points (53-43) the rest of the way. In addition to Findlay and Diamond, TCNJ received nine points from Stallworth, who also added five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Findlay had three blocked shots, while senior forward Dan DeSerio collected eight rebounds, seven points and a game-high six assists. For the Scarlet Raptors, Fantroyal added 12 points to Smalls’ team-high 20, while Miller grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds. TCNJ shot 45.3 percent (29-for-64), including 35.3 (6-for-17) from three-point range. Rutgers-Camden shot 36.4 (20-for-55) overall and 44.4 (4-for-9) from three-point range. The Lions out-rebounded the Scarlet Raptors, 41-38. INDOOR TRACK Feb. 4 Frank Colden Invitational (Ursinus College) Men: 1. West Chester University, 76; 2. Muhlenberg College, 65; 3. Ursinus College, 62; 4. Rowan University, 46; 5. Gettysburg College, 41; 6. Hagerstown Community College, 40; 7. Merchant Marine Academy, 36.50; 8. American University, 27; 9. Loyola College, 15; 10.(tie) Stevens Institute of Technology and Swarthmore College, 12; 12. Cabrini College, 10; 13. Cumberland Community College, 8; 14. Albright College, 7; 15. Community College of Philadelphia, 4; 16. Keystone College, 2.50. Did not score – Rutgers-Camden Women: 1. Towson University, 149; 2. Haverford College, 57; 3. Gettysburg College, 56; 4. West Chester University, 53; 5. Muhlenberg College, 44; 6. American University, 26; 7. Cabrini College, 20; 8. Ursinus College, 16; 9. Loyola College, 14; 10. Rowan University, 12; 11. Community College of Philadelphia, 10; 12. Swarthmore College, 4; 13.(tie) Bryn Mawr College and Keystone College, 1. Did not score – Rutgers-Camden UPCOMING SCHEDULE: February March The Rutgers-Camden track team set 10 school records in the second meet of its maiden indoor season as it ran six men and two women at the Frank Colden Invitational, which was held at Ursinus College Feb. 4. The Scarlet Raptors didn’t score a point in the meet, which was won by West Chester University in the men’s competition (76 points) and Towson University (146) on the women’s side. The Scarlet Raptors’ top performances came from freshman Jonathan Salamon (Bridgewater, NJ/St. Joseph-Metuchen), who finished ninth in the 800-meter run (2:03.83), 10th in the mile run (4:33.90) and ran the second leg of the 4x400, in which the team finished 10th in a time of 3:51.86. All three of those times were school records for the fledgling indoor program. Joining Salamon on the 4x400 relay team were senior Taiwan Lamb (Atlantic City, NJ/Atlantic City) and freshmen Patrick Eigbe (Galloway, NJ/Absegami) and anchor Darryl Mendillo (Galloway, NJ/Absegami). Mendillo also broke his week-old school record of 57.1 in the 400-meter dash by running a 54.90 to finish 21st. Eigbe, meanwhile, lowered his mark of 25.9 in the 200-meter dash, finishing 22nd with a 25.51 clocking. In the long jump, Lamb finished 10th (19-4.25) and freshman Michael McClain (Sewell, NJ/Bishop Eustace) finished 21st (15-8.75). Lamb also finished 19th in the 55-meter dash (7.12), while Eigbe was 23rd (7.16) and McClain 46th (8.11). Freshman Travis Stewart (Runnemede, NJ/Triton Regional) finished 15th in the 3,000-meter run in a school-record time of 9:30.64. He also was 19th in the 800 meters (2:09.87). On the women’s side, junior Nafeesa Ysuff (Vineland, NJ/Vineland) and sophomore Rachel McCormick (Blue Anchor, NJ/Winslow Township) each set a pair of school records, with only Yusuff’s time of 28.80 in the 200-meter dash passing a previous mark, set by freshman Julie Grochowski (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) last week during the first meet in Rutgers-Camden indoor program history. That mark was 32.0. Yusuff finished her 200-meter dash in 20th place. Yusuff also ran the women’s first 55-meter dash, posting a time of 7.81 for ninth place. McCormick finished 40th in the mile run (6:34.09) and 62nd in the 800-meter run (2:53.34). BASEBALL UPCOMING SCHEDULE: February Fri. 17 at Hampden-Sydney College (VA) 3 p.m. March Wed. 1 Haverford College 3 p.m. SOFTBALL UPCOMING SCHEDULE: March Fri. 3 vs. Wilkes University (PA) 11 a.m. |
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