Mahwah, NJ: The Ramapo College men's basketball team clinched their second straight New Jersey Athletic Conference title in a 67-59 win over William Paterson in the Bradley Center. With the win, the Roadrunners earned an automatic berth into the 2017-18 NCAA DIII National Tournament.

It was Josh Ford who kicked off the game with a layup for the Roadrunners first two points of the game. However, the Pioneers came to play, making three of their first four shots to take a quick 6-2 lead early. But Tom Bonacum led the way in the first half with 12 points to help Ramapo obtain a healthy lead. He went 4-of-9 from the field, including 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. Patrick Peterson had seven points off the bench, knocking in one three pointer. Rob McWilliams was a perfect 3-for-3 for six points.

Sean Smith led William Paterson with nine points in the first half. The Roadrunners held the Pioneers to 29.7 percent shooting in the first half, while Ramapo shot an even 50 percent on their way to a 35-26 lead going into the locker room.

Ramapo picked up steam in the second half, as they strung together a 6-0 run to get a 13-point lead. But William Paterson kept battling, and went on their own run led by Richy Espinal. He had 14 points in the half on 6-of-10 shooting, including one three-pointer.

William Paterson pulled within one after Smith knocked down a deep three at 6:02. Ramapo, though, used the crowd to pull away. Nick Stanek drained a three to push the lead to 60-55, and the next possession, finished a nice layup to further it to seven.

The team made their free throws down the stretch as well, and eventually finished off the Pioneers for their back-to-back title.

Bonacum finished with game-high 19 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double, which included going 9-of-11 from the free throw line. Peterson added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Christopher Moseley and Stanek finishing with nine points each.

For the Pioneers, Espinal had a team-high 18 points, while Domenic Mignone knocked down two three-pointers on his way to 10 points.

With the victory, Ramapo now has five NJAC titles for their men's basketball program. They also stay undefeated on their home court this season.

The NCAA DIII National Tournament selection show is this Monday, Feb. 26, where the Roadrunners will find out their seed and rank for the national tournament.