Mahwah, NJ: The Ramapo College men's basketball team played host to the Cougars of Kean University tonight at the Bradley Center in Mahwah in a New Jersey Athletic Conference match-up. The Roadrunners held off a second half surge by the Cougars, to earn a 74-71 triumph.
The Roadrunners, who ended the first 20 minutes of play up 35-31 over Kean, were led by junior JOHN WOJCIK (Sayreville, NJ) who was 2-2 from behind the arc and 3-3 from the foul line for nine first half points. Ramapo went on a 6-0 run, sparked at the 3:28 mark by junior RASHAWN WILSON (Jersey City, NJ), giving the Roadrunners their biggest lead of the half, 31-20 with just over two minutes left to play. The Cougars fought to close the gap and Bryan Keller (Piscataway, NJ) hit a key three-pointer with one second left to play shrink the Roadrunner lead to just four. Keller posted 11 Cougar points for Kean in the half. Ramapo shot 13-29 from the field, 45%, over Kean's 13-32, 41%.
Ramapo came out firing to start the second half, opening up a 13 point lead following an ANTOOINE PRYOR (Elizabeth, NJ) three point basket, 53-40, with just under 14 minutes to play in the game. The Roadrunners were unable to put the Cougars away however, as two WILSON turnovers allowed Kean to climb back into the game. A pair of Armet Coles (Staten Island, NY) free throws cut the Roadrunner lead to just six, 57-51, with nine minutes to go. Over the next six minutes the Cougars whittled the Roadrunner lead down to the slimmest of margins, 63-62, and forced the Roadrunner faithful to sweat out this NJAC battle. Ramapo never relinquished the lead, as the teams traded baskets over the next three minutes, until PRYOR calmly buried two free throws to put the Roadrunners back up by three, 71-68. Kean's hopes faded away as Keller's errant three point jumper fell off the rim into PRYOR'S waiting arms. One QUAMEIR HARDING (Jersey City, NJ) free throw combined, with two more PRYOR foul shots, tallied Ramapo's final score of 74, before Keller harmlessly hit a three point jumper as time expired, leaving the Cougars just short, with 71 points.
The Roadrunners were led offensively by WILSON'S 17 points and nine rebounds, both team highs, as well as AHMAD MOSBY'S (Jersey City, NJ) five assists and five steals. Ramapo was the beneficiary of 15 offensive rebounds, resulting in 19 second chance points. Coles led the Cougars with game highs in both points and rebounds, with 25 and 12 respectively. BJ Hamby (Bridgewater, NJ) added 17 points, while Keller dropped in 16.
The Roadrunners will travel to Rutgers Camden on Saturday, December 3rd for a 3:00 PM start while the Cougars host The College of New Jersey at 3:00 PM.
