Farmingdale, NY: The Ramapo College men's basketball team defeated Farmingdale State College today 74-60 in non-conference action. The Roadrunners improve to 9-2 overall while the Rams drop to 7-4 overall.
In the first half,
Kashaun Barnes would tie the game 8-8 with a pair of free throws with 15:43 on the clock before a
Rob Lewis layup put the Roadrunners in the lead for good 10-8. Matthew Graham sank a three-pointer for the Rams to come within one 12-11 with just over 14 minutes left in the half before
Rob McWilliams sank a jumper for Ramapo that started a 13-0 run that was capped off with a made basket from
Travis Bennett to take a 25-11 lead with less than eight minutes left on the clock. The two teams traded shots before Ali Mableton and Ryan Kennedy scored a free throw and three-pointer respectively for the Rams shrinking the Ramapo lead to ten 27-17 with 6:25 on the clock. Lewis then started a 14-3 run with a layup while it was capped off with a three-pointer from Bennett with 2:56 left on the clock. The Rams outscored Ramapo in the final minutes of the first half 5-4 as Ramapo went into halftime up 45-25.
Ramapo shot 55% (19-34) from the floor, 42% (3-7) from the three-point line and 66% (4-6) from the free throw line in the first half. The Roadrunners were led by McWilliams who tallied 14 first half points while Lewis added ten points and seven rebounds Barnes posted nine points and Bennett collected eight of his own including 2-2 from the three-point line.
In the second half, Ramapo stretched their lead to 23 on a basket from McWilliams to take a 51-28 lead before the Rams shrunk the lead to 17 on a three-pointer from Chaz Platt with 14:29 on the clock 53-36. Ramapo would increase their lead back to 18 with a layup from Lewis before the Rams started to chip away. A three-pointer from Anthony Miller started a 9-2 run that cut the lead to 11 on a pair of free throws by George Riefenstahl with under seven minutes to go in the game. Ramapo would get a layup from Barnes 63-50 before FSC would come within six on another 9-2 run from the Rams highlighted by a three-pointer from Matthew Graham and a pair of free throws from Miller with 2:11 on the clock as Ramapo held onto a 65-59 lead. The Roadrunners then outscored the Rams 9-0 down the stretch, all nine points coming from the free throw line, as Ramapo came away with the 74-60 road win.
Lewis posted his sixth double-double of the season and third straight as he scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, he also posted two steals and three assists. Barnes led the way with 23 points including finishing 8-13 from the floor and 6-7 from the field while he also grabbed seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. McWilliams posted 18 points while he recorded nine rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot. The Roadrunners shot 50% (29-58) from the field, 37% (3-8) from the three-point line and 68% (13-19) from the free throw line. The Ramapo defense forced 13 Ram turnovers which led to 21 points for the Roadrunners.
For the Rams, Riefenstahl led the team with 13 points and 14 rebounds while he also recorded three blocked shots. Kennedy posted 11 points while Graham and Platt each contributed with nine points in the game. FSC shot 28% (18-64) from the floor, 25% (8-31) from the three-point line and 80% (16-20) from the free throw line.
The Roadrunners return to action at the 2018 D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas, NV on December 28th at 7pm (EST) against Husson University (6-2 overall).
