Mahwah , NJ : For the first time in the history of Ramapo College , the men's basketball team was crowned NJAC Champions as they defeated the Ospreys of Richard Stockton 79-71 on Friday night at the Bradley Center . The victory also gives the Roadrunners the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III basketball tournament. The Roadrunners improve to 23-4 overall while Richard Stockton falls to 17-10.
The game was a tale of two halves, as Stockton controlled the pace for much of the first half, taking a 7-5 lead just two minutes into the game. The two teams traded baskets for the next nine minutes as the Ospreys led 22-20 with nine minutes left in the half. Jon Greene (Wildwood, NJ) helped Stockton extend the lead to six, 30-24, with seven minutes remaining. The Roadrunners closed the gap to two, 41-39, as AMIN WRIGHT (Jersey City, NJ) knocked down a jumper to end the first half. The Roadrunners had no answer for Stockton's Kris Polk (Camden, NJ), as he led all first half scorers with 14 points, also pulling down six rebounds. The Roadrunners were led in the first half by ANTOINE PRYOR (Elizabeth, NJ), as he nailed three three-pointers, tallying nine points. WRIGHT had six points, five assists, three rebounds, one steal, and one block for Ramapo.
Ramapo opened the second half on a 5-0 mini run, capped off by BEN ALLEN'S (Clifton, NJ) three-point jumper, giving them a 44-41 lead. Ramapo held the lead for the next ten minutes, until Tobias Smith (Newark, NJ) posted a lay up following a Chris Jones (Englewood, NJ) steal, giving the Ospreys a 56-55 lead. The Roadrunners regained the lead for good, 64-63 with five minutes remaining in the game on the strength of a TODD LOWBER (Riverside, NJ) jumper. WRIGHT then took the game into his own hands, scoring seven of the final 15 Roadrunner points. Ramapo finally put the game away with 1:17 left thanks to a pair of DERRICK HOLLEY (Jersey City, NJ) free throws.
WRIGHT nearly missed a triple double, finishing with 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. LOWBER chipped in with 12 points and nine rebounds, while HOLLEY finished with 13 points. Polk finished with a game high 24 points, to go along with his nine rebounds. Mario Lancioni (Runnemede, NJ) finished with ten points and six rebounds before fouling out with 3:22 remaining.
The first Roadrunner NJAC team championship, in any sport, was won in front of a record 1,422 fans at the Bill Bradley Center. Ramapo now awaits their seeding and opponent for the NCAA Division III tournament.
