Box Score

 Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's basketball team put a serious scare into 11^th-ranked Ramapo College, but the Roadrunners held on to escape with a 73-72 win on Saturday afternoon in Packer Hall.
 
A last-second shot by junior Matthew Rista (Point Pleasant, NJ/St. Anthony's) hit the rim and bounced out as time expired, ending a tremendous effort by the Lions (5-14, 3-10 NJAC). Ramapo improved to 18-2 and 12-1 in the conference.
 
Sophomore Jayson Johnson (Bordentown, NJ/Life Center Academy) netted a career-high 24 points to lead TCNJ. Junior Alex Fox (Washington, NJ/Westwood), finished with 15 points, and Rista added 12 points and a team-high five rebounds.
 
Senior guard Anthony LoRusso (Mahwah, NJ/Don Bosco Prep) led the Roadrunners with 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Senior Elgin Brown (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) was near-perfect from the floor, hitting six-of-seven field goal attempts and collecting nine boards. Senior forward Stephon Treadwell (Newark, NJ/Seton Hall Prep) grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds in the win.
 
TCNJ shot the ball well early on, hitting eight of its first 14 shots and five-of-eight from beyond the arc. Sophomore Ryan Keegan (Farmingdale, NJ/Howell) and junior Skyelar Ettin (Princeton, NJ/Princeton) hit back-to-back, three-point shots to give the Lions a 15-11 advantage seven minutes into the game. Sophomore Emmanuel Matlock (Trenton, NJ/Solebury) then slipped a pass underneath to Fox, who converted to push ahead by six. A running jumper by Johnson put host up by 10 with 11 minutes to play in the half.
 
Explosive play by Johnson kept the Lions in command in the first half. He hit six of his first seven shots from the floor and finished the half with 15 points.
 
The Roadrunners cut into the lead late in the period. Senior guard Will Sanborn (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Regional) and LoRusso combined for 18 points out of the backcourt. A pair of free throws by Elvonney Poole drew Ramapo within three points, but a Rista jumper and Johnson free gave the host a 40-34 cushion at the break.
 
Ramapo erased the lead quickly as two 3-pointers by LoRusso sandwiched around a Sanborn layup put them ahead 42-40 just over three minutes into the period. They took control of the tempo, but the Lions clawed their way back when William Lester (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) and Rista knocked down 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to close the gap to 60-58 with 9:08 to play.
 
Fox then hit a long-distance shot from the corner to bring the crowd to its feet as the Lions pushed ahead by a point.
 
The Roadrunners kept their poise and held a 71-70 lead with three minutes to play. The Lions then took the lead briefly as Johnson drove the lane and connected with 1:30 to play. Sanborn then found Brown underneath for an easy bucket to retake the lead 73-72. That basket turned out to be the game-winner.
 
Ramapo helped their cause from the foul line hitting 19-of-24 free throws. They turned the ball over 21 times, but held an 39-30 advantage under the glass.
 
Lester finished with 10 points and Matlock dished out a team-high five assists.
 
The Lions resume conference play this Wednesday when they visit Rutgers University-Camden for an 8 p.m. tipoff. They return home next Saturday, February 2 for a match-up with Rutgers-Newark. Ramapo will host Montclair State University on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.