Mahwah, NJ – Freshman guard Shaun Russell (Brooklyn, NY / Willingboro) scored a season-high 27 points however host Ramapo College used a pair of scoring spurts to pull away for a 98-84 victory over Montclair State at the Bradley Center on Saturday.
Freshman guard Lavrone Green (Teaneck, NJ / Teaneck) had 16 points for the Red Hawks (5-13, 2-11 NJAC), who dropped their sixth consecutive contest. Sophomore guard Erick Loften-Harris (Union, NJ / Union) finished with 13 points for MSU.
The Red Hawks got off to an early five-point lead as Kevin McGorry's (Rutherford, NJ / Rutherford) tip-in gave MSU a 6-1 advantage. Ramapo would eventually erase the deficit and the teams battled back and forth the rest of the half as the opening period featured six ties and five lead changes. Russell's free throw with 4:17 remaining knotted the score at 28-28 before Frank Nock put the Roadrunners back in front with a pair of foul shots. A layup by Ve'Shawn Polite boosted the lead to 33-28 but Montclair climbed back to within a point 33-32 on another charity stripe make by Russell with 2:27 remaining.
Following a basket by the Red Hawks, Nock connected on a jumper and Polite sank two at the line with 58 seconds before halftime as the Roadrunners grabbed a 40-36 lead at the break.
The second half saw Montclair tie the game in the early moments with five more occurring in the first five minutes, including a 50-50 deadlock following a layup by Green with 14:57 left. Ramapo countered with a 13-2 run and took a 63-52 lead with 12:41 to go on a free throw by Polite.
A McGorry jumper with just under 10 minutes remaining pulled MSU within 65-58 however a 12-2 run by the Roadrunners pushed the score to 77-60 with 7:24 to play.
Both teams shot the ball well as each finished over 50 percent. The Red Hawks were 30-of-60 from the field while Ramapo shot 30-of-55 (55 percent). Each team connected seven times from behind the arc however the largest disparity came at the foul line. Ramapo took advantage of its 39 attempts sinking 31 while Montclair State was just 17-of-29.
McGorry finished with six points and five rebounds while Devyn Ransom (Jersey City, NJ / Marist) chipped in with four points and a team-best seven rebounds.
MSU returns to the Panzer Athletic Center on Wednesday, February 4 hosting local rival William Paterson University at 8:00 pm.