Las Vegas, NV:  The Ramapo College men's basketball team defeated Whittier College at the 14th Annual D3hoops.com Classic played at South Point Arena, 73-63. The Roadrunners win their fifth straight and move to 9-3 overall. The Poets see their three-game win streak snapped and drop to 8-3 overall.
 
The Roadrunners led from the first half as Anthony Corbo opened the game with a three-pointer off a pass from Jordan Myers. Ramapo then built a seven-point lead, 19-12, with back-to-back baskets from Justin Bladen and Corbo with 12:31 on the clock. A mini 6-0 run from the Poets shrunk the Roadrunner lead to just one before Branden Moore added a layup 21-18. That basket started a 10-0 run which included a three-pointer from Peter Gorman and capped off with a jumper from Myers, 28-18 with 4:44 on the clock. Just over a minute later Ramapo took their biggest lead of the half, 31-20, on a pair of free throws from Tim Linton. Another 6-0 run from Whittier cut the Ramapo lead to five with 2:14 on the clock before Linton started a 7-0 run to end the first half. The Roadrunners went into the locker room up, 38-26.
 
Ramapo's run extended into the second half when Rooney converted on one of two free throws for a 39-26 lead with just over 18 minutes to play. Bladen would score four three-pointers to help push the Ramapo lead to 58-31 with 14:40 on the clock. An 11-0 run from Whittier shrunk the Ramapo lead before Branden Moore sank a pair of free throws with 10:30 on the clock, 62-42. Back-to-back baskets for Whittier cut the Ramapo lead to 62-48 with just over eight minutes to play in the game. Coming out of a Ramapo timeout, Linton would sink a jumper off a dish from Gorman before the Poets converted an and-one play. Myers converted one of two free throws while Whittier went on a 9-0 run to cut the Ramapo lead to just seven with just over five left to play, 65-58. A technical foul on Whittier resulted in one free throw for Ramapo where Anthony Corbo converted before Linton added a jumper with 2:42 remaining, 68-58. Elijah Barlow sank a big three-pointer for Ramapo for a 71-60 lead with less than two minutes left to play. Corbo added the final two points for Ramapo on the free throw line while Whittier scored a three-pointer as Ramapo came away with the 73-63 win.
 
Bladen led the team with a career high 23 points including five three-pointers while he added three assists and five rebounds. Gorman added 12 points, seven assists and six rebounds and Linton contributed with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists. Myers led the team with 10 rebounds while he added four points, one blocked shot and three assists. Rooney added nine points, seven rebounds and three assists and Corbo posted seven points, five rebounds, three assists, one blocked shot and one steal. Ramapo shot 41% (25-60) from the field, 53% (8-15) from beyond the three-point line and 68% (15-22) from the free throw line. The Roadrunners out rebounded the Poets 50-32.
 
Four Poets scored in double figures for the team including three off the bench. The team was led by Kalu who tallied 15 points while Aamari Smith collected 13 points and Jaden Mathis posted 12. Morgan Cox contributed with ten points including three three-pointers. The team shot 35% (23-64) from the field, 32% (9-28) from the three-point line and 72% (8-11) from the free throw line.
Ramapo returns to action on Jan. 8th when they host NJAC rival Rutgers-Newark University at 7:30 PM.