Kean Falls in Regular Season Finale

Kean Falls in Regular Season Finale
Kean Athletics

GLASSBORO, N.J. (2/23/08) - Rookie guard Keith Williams (Jersey City, N.J.) had 17 points, seven steals and six rebounds, however the Kean University men's basketball team could not offset six in double figures for Rowan University, falling 80-65 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference regular season finale on Saturday afternoon. Senior forward Matt Byrnes (Mays Landing, N.J.) led the Profs (18-7, 7-5 NJAC) with 23 points, including 20 points in the final half. Rowan earned the second seed for the South Division in the upcoming NJAC tournament, while the Cougars (9-16, 4-9 NJAC) are the third seed in the South and are in the NJAC tourney for the first time since 2000-01.

Rowan held a slim two-point lead, 32-30, at halftime as junior forward Rahim Shiver (Cherry Hill, N.J.) had nine points and junior guard Kevin Darby (Atco, N.J.) added eight points in the opening half. For Kean, senior guard Lamar Wright (Galloway, N.J.) (pictured left) was one of three players with six points, while also adding a pair of steals.

In the second half, a 9-2 Rowan run extended the lead to double-digits for the first time (46-36) less than five minutes into the half. Kean scored five straight points to cut the deficit in half, however the Profs broke the game open with a 16-5 run to build a 16-point lead at 62-46 with 10:48 left.

Rowan would lead by as many as 19 points with just 64 seconds remaining en-route to the 15-point victory to sweep the season series with Kean.

Wright finished with 16 points, three rebounds and two steals, while freshman guard Dean Hughes (Pemberton Twp., N.J.) (pictured right) scored a career-high 11 points off the bench.

Kean faces NJAC North Division Second Seed Ramapo College in the opening round of the NJAC playoffs on Tuesday, February 26.