Union, N.J. (12/2/09) - Senior Brian Lytle (Union, N.J.) scored a team-high 14 points as the Kean University men's team edged visiting Rutgers-Camden, 59-56, Wednesday evening at Harwood Arena. The matchup was the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) opener for both as Kean improved to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the NJAC. The loss is the first for the Scarlet Raptors this season as Camden falls to 3-1 and 0-1 in conference action.

Junior Jonathan Jones (Linden, N.J.) scored the first basket of the contest as Kean didn't look back in the first half, controlling the lead throughout. Kean took their biggest lead with 1:57 to go as senior Eugene Tolliver (East Orange, N.J.) nailed a three-pointer to give KU a 29-13 advantage. Kean headed into the break
with a 36-22 lead.

In the first half senior Akinwande Oshodi (Florence, N.J.) added seven points and five rebounds while Tolliver and Lytle added six apiece. For Rutgers-Camden, senior Joshua Askew (Sicklerville, N.J.) had seven points.

The Cougars kept pace with their lead throughout the early part of the second half, but the Scarlet Raptors started chipping away late, and closed the deficit to single digits with 5:52 to go as Chris Clahar (Philadelphia, Pa.) hit a layup to put the score at 53-44. Camden continued to close the gap and got within two on two separate occasions with under a minute in the game. Askew hit a trey with 57 seconds remaining to put the score at 55-53. After a Lytle basket and a Jones free-throw to push the lead back to five, Askew again hit a three-pointer with eight seconds on the clock, trailing 58-56. Freshman Mike Shaughnessy (Linwood, N.J.) hit one-of-two from the free-throw line to push the lead back to three before Askew's last second three-point attempt fell short at the buzzer.

Oshodi finished with 10 points and six rebounds while Jones added seven points and 12 rebounds.

For Rutgers-Camden, Askew had a game-high 16 points while Clahar added 12 in the loss.