The Ramapo College Roadrunners Men’s Basketball Team (20-6) advanced to the NJAC (New Jersey Athletic Conference) Tournament Final in a hard-fought 88-81 win over the Stockton University Ospreys (19-8) at Chuck McBreen Court/Bradley Center on the campus of Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey.
@rcnjmbb defeats @MenStockton 88-81 @NJACSports Tournament Semifinals tonight @ #ChuckMcBreenCourt #BradleyCenter @RamapoCollegeNJ @petergorman1203 scores a game-high 30 pts. for the Roadrunners @ONNJSports 🏀 pic.twitter.com/6MwJUh705q
— Sports News By Sunil Sunder Raj (@SunilSportsNews) February 26, 2025
Peter Gorman dropped a game-high 30 points while Shane Rooney notched a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, Anthony Corbo supplied 16 points, and Justin Bladen added 12 points.
EJ Matthews-Spratley tallied a team-high 28 points for Stockton and hit six three-pointers, while Eriq Campbell contributed 22 points, and Christian Armstrong-Thomas chipped in with 10 points.
“That was a really good basketball game, and Stockton leads the NJAC in rebounding, average 15 offensive rebounds a game and in the first game down there they got 16 and here 21 but we made it a point to win the backboards and did 43-34,” Ramapo College Head Coach Chuck McBreen explained.
“We talked in the locker room about how we need balanced scoring; it can’t be one guy, and we got four guys in double figures. We have had guys with injuries and fly, and coming down the stretch, we put together a six-game winning streak, and to get into this position, my hat is off to the team for their resilience despite all the adversity. We started this year with 23 players and now have 10-11-12 guys, and we’re trying to overcome injuries.”
The Roadrunners trailed Stockton by double digits at 20-10 with 13 minutes remaining in the first half, but Ramapo started to chip away at the deficit. Peter Gorman scored five points, narrowing the margin to 22-20 at the 10-minute mark.
13:02 left in the first half @MenStockton leading @rcnjmbb 20-10 @NJACSports Tournament 🏀 @ONNJSports pic.twitter.com/XJ1qlVKsXr
— Sports News By Sunil Sunder Raj (@SunilSportsNews) February 26, 2025
However, the Roadrunners could not contain EJ Matthews-Spratley’s sizzling shooting from behind the arc. Matthews-Spratley had three consecutive trifectas to extend the Osprey’s advantage to 31-22 with eight and a half minutes remaining.
With a strategic approach and the production of key players like Peter Gorman and Justin Bladen, the Roadrunners managed to tie the game at 31-31, showcasing their adaptability and tactical skills.
The back-and-forth action continued as EJ Matthews-Spratley, on fire from downtown, knocked down his sixth triple of the game, sparking a 5-0 spurt that made it 36-31 Stockton with five minutes to go.
The Roadrunners ignited a rebuttal by getting to the free-throw line and driving to the basket for layups, which resulted in a 9-1 blitz and a 39-37 lead with less than two minutes left.
Ramapo ended the first half on a high note with a 5-1 run. Anthony Corbo drained a trey, and Jordan Myers’ floater in the paint at the buzzer put the Roadrunners up 46-41 at halftime.
@ halftime @NJACSports Tournament Semifinals @rcnjmbb leading @MenStockton 46-41 @ONNJSports 🏀 pic.twitter.com/xP9TcLjrN8
— Sports News By Sunil Sunder Raj (@SunilSportsNews) February 26, 2025
Once the second half finished, Ramapo quickly stretched the margin to 58-49 with 17 minutes to go. The Roadrunners sank a pair of pearls and muscled their way in the paint for layups.
17:07 remaining in the second half @rcnjmbb extends advantage to 58-49 over @MenStockton @NJACSports Tournament Semifinals @ONNJSports 🏀 pic.twitter.com/v1OjNlsr59
— Sports News By Sunil Sunder Raj (@SunilSportsNews) February 26, 2025
Ramapo widened the margin to 69-57 with 11 minutes to go as Peter Gorman scored his 24th game point, unleashing a trifecta. Defensively, the Roadrunners were spectacularly limiting EJ Matthews-Spratley to five points.
Stockton refused to go away quietly as they sliced the deficit to 78-72 with less than five minutes remaining. The Ospreys are leaning on Eriq Campbell. The Roadrunners can stem the Osprey’s momentum down the stretch, knocking seven out of eight free throws to seal the victory.
“We did a good job, then we were in severe foul trouble at the end and had to put guys in, and we got to the free throw line,” Head Coach Chuck McBreen described. “We have the senior experience, and Shane (Rooney) stepped up in the second half and was phenomenal, scoring 13 points after having two points and four rebounds in the first half.”
“Stockton is really good, number 17 in the national power index rating, we’re probably going to get four teams in the NCAA Tournament and the scary part is they get all those guys back and they’re really tough. We had to come out and show were one of the better teams in the league. We talked about being home and importance of beating Stockton two weeks ago in double overtime in order to get this home game.”
The Roadrunners face the number one seed, Montclair State University Red Hawks (20-6), in the NJAC Championship Game on Friday, February 28th, at the Panzer Athletic Center in Montclair, New Jersey, with tip-off at 7 p.m. Montclair State advanced to the tournament final with an 80-62 win over The College of New Jersey in the semifinals.
“Montclair State is really tough at home, and we were able to beat them down there with (Peter) Gorman having 38,” Head Coach Chuck McBreen noted. “We’re going to have to take care of the ball when we have the advantage on them and able to beat them twice by getting the ball inside and they couldn’t cover us and were able to do a lot exploiting and switching.” “They do what we do to people and just pressure the whole game and weigh you down and they run a lot of bodies in and out of the game and it’s going to be important for us to handle that situation.”
