Camden, NJ: The Ramapo College men's basketball team, one of the elite Division III programs in the country, scored the first 11 points of the game in racing to a 12-point halftime lead and weathered a Rutgers-Camden second-half rally before defeating the Scarlet Raptors, 72-57, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Saturday afternoon.
Ramapo improves to 14-3 overall and 5-0 in the NJAC with its fifth straight win. The Roadrunners, who received 61 votes and were the top team in the "Others Receiving Votes" toward this week's d3hoops.com Top 25 poll, have been ranked as high as 20th nationally this season. Rutgers-Camden falls to 2-12 overall and 1-5 in the NJAC with its fourth straight defeat. Ramapo has won the last 13 meetings in the series to take a 39-12 all-time lead.
With sophomore guard Will Sanborn (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Regional) and junior forward Demetrius Boards (Jersey City, NJ/Marist) leading the way, Ramapo jumped out to an 11-0 lead and held a 33-21 advantage at the break. Boards notched 10 of those points, while Sanborn added eight.
The Scarlet Raptors, however, started the second half with a 18-13 run, slicing the deficit to seven points, 46-39, on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Ali Noorzad (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) with 11:45 remaining.
That was the closest Rutgers-Camden came the rest of the way. Ramapo responded with a four-point run, aided by a layup from junior guard Ahmad Hassan (Leonia, NJ/Leonia) and a pair of foul shots by sophomore guard Travis Conyers (Jersey City, NJ/St. Anthony), making it 50-39. The Raptors never came closer than eight points the rest of the way. Hassan finished with a game-high 18 points, 12 of them in the second half. Boards notched 12 points, while Sanborn had 11 and junior guard Anthony LoRusso (Mahwah, NJ/Don Bosco Prep) added 10. Boards also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds for the Roadrunners, who held a 36-29 advantage off the glass.
Conyers had five assists and LoRusso added four for Ramapo. Rutgers-Camden received 12 points from junior guard Anthony Solano (Garfield, NJ/Wood-Ridge), while senior guard Eric Goode (Newark, NJ/University) added 10. Senior center Jared Meredith (Mount Laurel, NJ/Burlington County Institute of Technology) had six rebounds for the Raptors, while freshman guard Woody Redding (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast Catholic) dished off four assists and added three steals. Senior forward Alex Rislin (Union, NJ/Union) also had three steals.
Ramapo shot 48.9 percent from the field (22-for-45), while Rutgers-Camden shot 37.5 (21-for-56).
Rutgers-Camden returns to action Monday with a 2 p.m. non-conference game at St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn. Ramapo entertains New Jersey City University Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.