On Saturday afternoon, the Ramapo men’s basketball team fell to Rowan University, 97-66 at home. The Profs improved to 17-3 overall and remained undefeated (13-0) in the conference while the Roadrunners moved to 8-12 overall and 4-9 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC).
The Profs used a strong first half to pull away from the Roadrunners while they started the second half on a 13-0 run before Ramapo’s Peter Gorman scored on a jumper.
Rowan then continued to extend their lead to 76-31 with another 12-0 run with under 12 minutes left to play in the second half.
Ramapo’s Shane Rooney retaliated with an 11-4 run, capped off with a jumper from Tyrell Murchison. Hafeez Melvin sank a three-pointer for the Profs for an 83-42 score with under seven minutes left to play in the game.
Rowan finished the game out strong, as they held more than a 30-point lead for the remainder of the game to earn the NJAC road victory.
Rowan had a great day on the offense. They connected on 15 three-pointers in the game shooting higher than 50% (15-26) behind the three-point line. The Profs also shot 48% (36-75) from the field and 71% (10-14) from the free throw line.
This led five Rowan players to score in double-digits for the team as they were led by Marcellus Ross with 17 points while he finished with four three-pointers, five rebounds and two steals. Ja’Zere Noel also posted 17 points while he added eight rebounds.
The Prof’s Andrew Seager added 11 points and a team-high 13 rebounds while Melvin posted 13 points and Damian Smith had 10 points and four assists.
Despite the loss, Ramapo had four Roadrunners score in double figures as well. Murchison and Jon Delgado each led the team in scoring with 13 points each while Delgado connected on three three-pointers.
Rooney ended the game with 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Elijah Barlow contributed with 10 points. Ramapo struggled offensively as they shot 34% (26-76) from the field and 36% (7-19) from the three-point line. However, the Roadrunners were 70% (7-10) from the free throw line.
Ramapo men’s basketball will return to action on Feb. 4 when they travel to NJAC opponent Rutgers-Camden University at 3 p.m. Last time the two teams played on Jan. 7, Ramapo posted a 70-51 victory behind a career-high 22 points from Barlow.
twaschek@ramapo.edu
Photo courtesy of Ramapo Athletics
