The Ramapo Roadrunners (7-3, 3-2 NJAC) took advantage of a first-half surge to top The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) (7-3, 2-3 NJAC) Lions on Saturday afternoon.
Ramapo held a dominant 17-point lead after a strong first period showing. Despite a late rally by the Lions, the Roadrunners maintained their lead and secured an 88-76 victory.
Initially, TCNJ got a put-back from junior Matthew Okorie to gain the game’s first possession and lead the game early 5-3. However, Ramapo would quickly work to maintain control of the rest of the game on a jumper by senior Peter Gorman to go up 7-5 with 16:38 left in the first half. That was part of a 9-0 run for the Roadrunners.
To open the latter half of contest, Ramapo would have a 19-point lead from three consecutive three-pointers from senior Anthony Corbo and senior Justin Bladen to an astounding 47-28. Corbo would add another three with just under 15 minutes to play.
However, this would not be the Roadrunners most significant lead. With under nine minutes of contest, Gorman would contribute his own three pointer, and fellow senior Shane Rooney would score a jumper to push the lead to 67-44. Ramapo Tim Linton would have the final points for the Roadrunners on a dunk.
Ramapo Tim Linton would have the final points for the Roadrunners on a dunk. Gorman led the offensive efforts for Ramapo. For the second straight game, Gorman posted 26 points as he finished 7-14 from the field, 2-5 from three as he was perfect from the line (10-10). He also posted four rebounds, four assists and one steal.
Sophomore Nick Koch dominated the offensive front for the Lions with 21 points and fellow sophomore Matthew Solomon would add 16 points and a team high 11 rebound.
Despite being ranked first and nationally 18th coming into preseason, this is the third New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) contest the Lions have dropped since opening conference play. TCNJ has suffered losses from initially fifth-ranked Stockton University and sixth-ranked Kean University.
Currently, Ramapo is third in league while TCNJ holds seventh place.
The Roadrunners return to action on Dec. 28 when they travel to the D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas, NV. Ramapo will take on the University of Mount Union.
TCNJ looks to rebound with a matchup against Merchant Marine Academy this Wednesday.
