Las Vegas, NV: The Ramapo College men's basketball team defeated the University of Mount Union tonight, 65-64, at the 14th Annual D3hoops.com Classic played at South Point Arena. The Roadrunners win their fourth straight and move to 8-3 overall. The Raiders (6-3 overall) started the season ranked #19 in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25 poll and received votes in the last three polls.
The Raiders opened the game on a 7-0 run capped off with a three-pointer before Ramapo went to the line to put their first points on the board. Justin Bladen converted one of two on the line. before Peter Gorman sank a three-pointer to start a 7-0 run for the Roadrunners. Shane Rooney put down a dunk before Jordan Myers added a jumper to cut the Raider lead to two with just under 14 minutes to play in the first half. Mount Union opened an eight-point lead with a three-pointer from Kevin Moore, 21-13, with 9:35 on the clock. Tyrell Murchison would convert three of four on two separate trips from the free throw line before Braden Moore scored on a driving layup to cut the lead to two, 19-21, with 7:37 on the clock. The Raiders added their next three points from the free throw line before Myers sank a jumper off a steal with 5:41 on the clock. A jumper from the Raiders put them up four before back-to-back jumpers from Gorman and Myers tied the game at 25 with 4:13 remaining. A basket from Mount Union and a pair of free throws from Gorman tied the game once again at 27 (3:42) before taking a two-point lead as Myers sank his free throws, 29-27. Moore sank back-to-back three-pointers before Myers scored at the other end for Ramapo with 55 seconds remaining. The Raiders added a pair of free throws and a layup to end the half while Myers scored the final points for the Roadrunners on a jumper. Mount Union led by four heading into the locker room at halftime, 37-33.
Ramapo opened the second half on a 9-2 run capped off with a jumper from Gorman before the Raiders called a timeout as the Roadrunners led, 42-39. Following the timeout, Myers extended the run with a jumper for a five-point lead, 44-39 with 15:18 remaining. The Roadrunners largest lead of the game came with 13:06 on the clock with a layup from Tim Linton, 46-40 before the Raiders made back-to-back baskets, cutting the lead to just two with just over 12 left to play. With 7:23 on the clock, Mount Union took a two-point lead before Gorman sank a three-pointer for the Roadrunners to regain the lead, 53-52. Marcus Steele converted on the free throw line for the Raiders before Christian Parker hit a big three-pointer with 5:14 on the clock for the lead, 57-53. Mount Union took a six-point lead with 2:44 on the clock before a jumper from Myers and free throws from Gorman shrunk the lead to just two with 2:25 remaining. With 54 seconds remaining, Justin Bladen sank a key pair of free throws for Ramapo before the Raiders called a timeout with the lead, 64-63. Coming out of the timeout, the Raiders missed a three-pointer before Myers made both free throws to give Ramapo the one-point lead with nine seconds remaining. A shooting foul was called at the other end of the floor with two seconds on the clock but the Raiders could not convert as Ramapo handed Mount Union their third loss of the season.
Myers posted a season high 25 points as he finished 9-16 from the field and 7-9 from the free throw line while adding five rebounds and one steal. Gorman added 17 points including two three-pointers while recording four assists and two steals. Anthony Corbo posted nine rebounds while Tim Linton added eight rebounds and three points. Shane Rooney collected eight points, five rebounds and two steals. Ramapo shot 33% (20-60) from the field, 30% (3-10) from the three-point line and 81% (22-27) from the free throw line.
Mount Union was led by Parker who posted a double double of 13 points and ten rebounds while Elijah Farrington recorded a game high 18 rebounds while adding eight points. Moore posted 13 points, including four three-pointers. Marcus Steele added eight points and four assists. The team shot 38% (19-49) from the field, 32% (8-25) from the three-point line and 52% (18-34) from the free throw line in the game.
Ramapo returns to action on Sunday evening as they take on Whittier College (7-2 overall) in their final game at the D3hoops.com Classic. Tip-Off is set for 9:00pm (EST).