Mahwah – Survive and advance. That’s the mantra when it comes to March basketball.
“Survive and advance” is precisely what Ramapo did during their thrilling 89-84 double overtime victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Claremont jumped out to an early lead, getting up by as much as eight with 10:38 left in the first period, and led by seven with 4:12 left in the half.
However, CMS’s lead evaporated from that point. A Shane Rooney layup, a Peter Gorman three, and two Justin Bladen free throws tied the game at 27 with 1:06 remaining in the first stanza.
A Branden Moore three with 34 seconds left in the half would momentarily give Ramapo the 30-27 lead, but Claremont’s Neil Owens would tie the game back up 29 seconds later with a three of his own. Two Gorman free throws with one second left in the period would give the Roadrunners the 32-30 lead heading into the break.
Ramapo extended their lead to as much as six in the early going of the second half after a Gorman layup put the Roadrunners up 36-30 with 18:59 to play in regulation.
CMS did not go away, though, and regained the lead after the Stags’ Will Householter knocked down a three with 14:47 to in the second half, giving Claremont a momentary 44-43 advantage. A free throw from Ramapo’s Jordan Myers almost a minute later would temporarily tie the contest back up at 44, but a Caelan Jones three and A.J. Rohosy free throw would give Claremont a four-point advantage with 12:59 left in regulation.
Ramapo would retake the lead roughly two and a half minutes later after Tim Linton knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Roadrunners a one-point edge.
From then on, however, neither team would not get up by any more than two points, and Ramapo and Claremont would finish regulation knotted at 60.
The first overtime period would be a continuation of the second half with neither team being able to build more than a three-point lead.
It would not be until the second overtime that, thanks to free throws, Ramapo would really be able to assert themselves. The Roadrunners went 12 for 12 on free throw attempts in the period, while CMS went three for six from the charity stripe.
Gorman led all scorers on the evening with 25 points while also dishing out eight assists, and Rooney had a double-double, notching 12 points and grabbing ten rebounds for Ramapo. Linton, Moore, and Myers also finished in double figures, scoring for the Roadrunners. Myers finished with 23 points while Linton and Moore finished with ten points apiece.
With the win, Ramapo advances to play Mary Washington, a 73-58 winner over Drew, tonight at 6:15 p.m. at RCNJ’s Chuck McBreen Court inside the Bill Bradley Sports and Recreation Center.
