Mahwah, NJ: The Ramapo College men's basketball team handed Rutgers-Camden University just their second loss of the season with a 58-57 NJAC victory on
Chuck McBreen Court this afternoon. The Roadrunners move to 2-6 overall and 1-2 in the NJAC while the Scarlet Raptors now stand at 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the league.
Ramapo jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first five minutes of action of the game.
Jalen Thomas tallied five points during the run while
Elijah Barlow recorded four. Ramapo used a strong first half to gain a seven-point lead heading into the locker room at halftime, 30-23. In the second half, the Roadrunners held at least a five-point lead until 11:32 on the clock as Rutgers-Camden came within one on a layup from Caleb Edwards. Following a RCNJ timeout, Ramapo went on an 8-0 run started by a layup from
Nahum Lewis and capped off with a jumper from
Jack O'Leary for a 51-42 score. A 12-3 run from the Scarlet Raptors tied the game at 54. The run was capped off with a three-pointer from Eric Benjamin with 2:18 remaining. With 1:05 on the clock Barlow scored a layup to give Ramapo a two-point lead, 56-54. Ryan Senft gave the Scarlet Raptors a one-point lead with 40 seconds remaining as he converted a pivotal and-one play. He made a jumper, was fouled and sank the free throw, 57-56. Following a Rutgers-Camden timeout, the Roadrunner had to run the length of the floor with 40 seconds to go in the game. Thomas grabbed a key offensive rebound for Ramapo and scored a basket to give them a 58-57 lead with just 14 seconds remaining. The Scarlet Raptors did not get a last second shot to fall as Ramapo held on for the NJAC victory.
Three Roadrunners scored in double figures as they were led by Thomas who recorded 14 points and six rebounds while
Tyrell Murchison posted ten points, six rebounds and a team high seven steals. Lewis also posted ten points while O'Leary added nine points, three steals and one assist. Orion Micken played a key role down the stretch with six rebounds, two blocks while he posted one point. The team shot 42% (24-56) from the field, 14% (1-7) from the free throw line and 75% (9-12) from the free throw line.
For the Scarlet Raptors, Cameron Downs led the way with 13 points, four assists, two blocks and one steal while Eric Benjamin added 11 points and Senft posted ten points and eight rebounds. The team shot 42% (23-54) from the field, 19% (4-21) from the three-point line and 70% (7-10) from the free throw line.
Ramapo returns to action on Wednesday, December 10th when they host Montclair State University at the Bradley Center at 7:30 PM.
