Mahwah, NJ: The Ramapo College men's basketball team played host to Medgar Evers in the opening round of the 2005 Annual Tip-Off Tournament at the Bradley Center in Mahwah. Ramapo opened the year at 1-0 defeating the Cougars, 87-73. Medgar Evers opens the year at 0-1. In the second game of the night, Yeshiva fell to FDU-Florham opening the year at 0-1, the Devils stand at 1-0.
Game 1: The Roadrunners posted an 87-73 victory in game one led by senior QUAMEIR HARDING (Jersey City, NJ) who shot 6-9 from the field, 5-8 from the free throw line sinking 17 total points. HARDING grabbed six steals and nine boards in the win with three assists while junior JOHN WOJCIK (Sayreville, NJ) wrapped up the night sinking 5-7 from the arc netting 15 points. In the first 20 minutes, the lead flipped back-and-forth six times with each team leading by as many as five through the half. The teams ended the first half knotted at 38. The Roadrunners shot 15-35 (43%) in the half behind the Cougars 14-29 (48%).
At the 7:15 mark in the second half, Ramapo hanging on by one point, WOJCIK hit instrumental back-to-back three-pointers pushing the Roadrunners up by seven. WOJCIK sunk a third three-pointer just over one minute later for his fifth of the game. Ramapo fought to the finish recording the 87-73 victory in Mahwah. RASHAWN WILSON (Jersey City, NJ) netted 16 points and eight rebounds for the team while senior TODD LOWBER (Riverside, NJ) and ANTOINE PRYOR (Elizabeth, NJ) added 15 and 12 respectively. PRYOR dished out five assists while LOWBER grabbed six boards. For the game, Ramapo shot 32-75 (43%) over Medgar's 25-61 (41%). For the Cougars, sophomore Perry Wilkes (Brooklyn, NY) sunk 29 points shooting 9-19 from the field, 11-16 from the line. Travis Kennedy (Brooklyn, NY) recorded nine points and 11 rebounds while Julius Johnson (Brooklyn, NY) and Kenneth Griffin (Brooklyn, NY) each grabbed three steals.
Game 2: The Devils of Farleigh Dickinson University (Florham Campus) outlasted Yeshiva University tonight 68-63 in an overtime battle. The Devils took control of the game early, jumping out to a 17-8 advantage following a Brian Dillon (West Orange, NJ) lay up. The Macabees refused to throw in the towel as they gained a 26-25 advantage following a Yoni Rotenberg (Rome) free throw, with just under three minutes to go in the first half. Their lead was short lived, however, as two Nate Lawrence (Willingboro, NJ) free throws gave Farleigh Dickinson a 29-27 advantage heading into the intermission.
The second half began in much the same fashion as the first, as the Devils extended their advantage to nine once again, 50-41, with 7:30 left to play. Yeshiva proved to be resilient once again, closing the second half on a furious 12-3 run, capped off by Roy Goldstein's (Bear Sheva, Israel) dramatic, game tying, three point jumper with five seconds on the clock. The two teams played even for the first 2:45 of the extra session, when Frank Emslie (Hazlet, NJ) knocked down a triple of his own. Emslie extended the lead to six with a free throw, as just 25 seconds remained. Ribald did all he could to keep Yeshiva within striking distance with a three the old fashioned way. Unfortunately for the Macabees, it was not meant to be on this night, as two Cody Chalmers' (Middletown, NJ) free throws put the game out of reach, 68-63.
Four Macabees scored in double figures, led by Harel Vatavu's (Ramat-Gan)16 points. Goldstein pulled down seven rebounds and grabbed three steals, each a team high. Yeshiva kept the game close with an 86.4 shooting percentage from the line, draining 19. Emslie matched Vatavu with 16 points of his own, to go along with four rebounds and three steals. Matt Cushing (Ocean, NJ) and Pierre Schmidt (Park Ridge, NJ) each added ten points in the Devil's winning effort.
The Macabees will play Medgar Evers at 1:00 PM in the consolation game of the Tip-Off Tournament, while the Roadrunners will play host to the Devils in the championship game at 3:00 PM.
