KEENE, N.H. (March 7, 2026) – The Rutgers University-Camden men's basketball team accomplished an historic first here Saturday night, and as a result the Scarlet Raptors have advanced to the ECAC Division III Men's Basketball Championship semifinals.
 
Sixth-seeded Rutgers-Camden outlasted third-seeded McDaniel College, 71-68, in a quarterfinal game to earn the first NCAA post-season win in Rutgers-Camden men's basketball history. The last time Rutgers-Camden won a post-season game was when it was an NAIA school and posted a 96-80 win over St. Thomas Aquinas on March 1, 1976, in the District 31 semifinals.
 
The Raptors' victory sets up a semifinal matchup against host Keene State College on Sunday at 1 p.m. Second-seeded Keene State rolled past seventh-seeded Maine-Presque Isle, 93-58, in Saturday's other quarterfinal matchup.
 
In only the second ECAC playoff game in school history – the first came in a loss against New York University at the end of the 2014-15 season – Rutgers-Camden (14-11) took a 37-35 halftime lead, fell behind by three points early in the second half and took the lead for good, 55-52, on a three-pointer by junior guard Noah Richmond with 11:12 remaining.
 
The Scarlet Raptors built their lead to 66-59 with 3:40 left in the game on a layup by senior guard Isaiah Waters before the Green Terror (16-11) sliced the gap to 69-68 with 48 seconds remaining on a three-point play by senior guard/forward David Kearney. Rutgers-Camden closed out the game down the stretch by adding a pair of free throws from freshman forward Makai Crawford.
 
The Scarlet Raptors received another huge performance by senior forward Cameron Downs, who scored 36 points, one shy of the career high he had against Maine Maritime on Nov. 15, 2025. Downs went 13-for-17 from the floor, including 7-for-10 from three-point range, and 3-for-5 from the foul line as he hiked his career scoring output to 1,706 points. He is the second-leading scorer in program history.
 
Senior guard Eric Benjamin added 13 points, aided by 3-for-5 three-point shooting, as he increased his career total to 169 treys, the second-highest mark in program history.
 
Crawford chipped in with nine points, while Downs and freshman guard/forward Gardy Etienne led the team with five rebounds apiece. Sophomore guard Ryan Senft had a game-high four assists.
 
David Kearney paced the Green Terror with 27 points, while sophomore guard Stuart Ashenafi scored 13 and junior guard Ryan Shaffer added 11. Junior guard Bruce Black scored nine points and senior guard/forward Matt Kearney chipped in with eight points.
 
Rutgers-Camden shot 26-for-43 (60.5 percent) from the floor, including 11-for-20 (55.0) from three-point range. The Scarlet Raptors went 8-for-12 (66.7) from the foul line.
 
McDaniel was 26-for-52 (50.0) from the floor, 6-for-15 (40.0) from three-point range and 10-for-15 (66.7) from the foul line.
 
Rutgers-Camden finished with a 22-19 edge off the boards.