Mahwah, NJ: The Ramapo College men's basketball team defeated New Jersey City University tonight in a New Jersey Athletic Conference match-up, 74-66. The Roadrunners finish the regular season at 17-8 overall, 11-7 in the NJAC while the Gothic Knights finish at 19-6 overall, 14-4 in the conference.
The Roadrunners earned the #4 seed in the NJAC Tournament and host #5 seeded William Paterson University on Saturday, February 16th at the Bradley Center at 3pm. Tickets for the NJAC tournament are $5 for Adults; $2 for students w/ID, senior citizens and children. All ticket sales are cash only.
Ramapo honored four seniors in a pregame ceremony: captain
Rob Lewis,
Kashaun Barnes,
Raghav Sehgal, and
Kyle Rauen.
The Roadrunners shot 27-55 (49.1%) from the field and 18-27 (66.7%) from the free-throw line led by Lewis with 24 points and nine rebounds while
Rob McWilliams tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Jason Battle collected nine points and dished out five assists and
Bryant Quill contributed with nine points. NJCU shot 24-63 (38.1%) from the field and 10-16 (62.5%) from the line. The Gothic Knights were led by Denzel Banks with 20 points and eight rebounds, James Julius netted 16 points and seven rebounds, and Sam Toney collected eight rebounds.
The Roadrunners jumped to an early six-point lead when McWilliams capitalized on an and-one play with 16:36 on the clock, 12-6. The teams traded baskets before Denzel Banks made a layup to bring the Gothic Knights within two, 16-18. Quill and Lewis scored back-to-back baskets with 8:28 on the clock, before Jeff Haddock sank a three-pointer for NJCU, 19-23. The teams traded layups before the Roadrunners went on a mini 12-2 run over 5:26 of play capped off by a free-throw from Lewis, 37-23. Haddock tallied three more points for NJCU, and a last second layup from Lewis would send the Roadrunners in to the locker room up 39-26, a lead they held for the whole first half.
Lewis started the second half strong for the Roadrunners, sparking a mini 9-4 run, scoring six of the nine points. Julius snapped the Roadrunners run and started a 20-6 run for NJCU when he sank a three-point shot with 15:33 on the clock, 35-48. Lavrone Green capped off the run on a layup, bringing the Gothic Knights within two, 52-54. The two teams traded baskets over the next 5:46 of play with the Roadrunners remaining on top, before a three-point shot from Shaquan Worthy closed the gap to one, 63-64. Ramapo netted five points in a row, before Julius went to the line to add another for NJCU, 64-69. With 1:13 remaining in the game Julius tipped the ball in, however the Roadrunners would outlast the Gothic Knights in the final minute tacking on four more points, to take the 74-66 victory.
