Box Score

Mahwah, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's basketball team suffered an 89-73 setback to Ramapo College on Saturday afternoon at the Bradley Center.

The loss dropped the Lions (7-14, 5-9 NJAC) into seventh place in the NJAC standings and moved the Roadrunners (9-11, 6-7 NJAC) into sole possession of sixth place with five league games remaining in the regular season schedule. Ramapo is the defending league champion.

Junior Jayson Johnson (Bordentown, NJ/Life Center Academy) led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the floor. He also dished out six assists. Sophomore Bobby Brackett (Lawrence, NJ/Lawrence) put forth a strong effort in 39 minutes of play. He tallied 17 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. Joe Kane (Cinnaminson, NJ/Holy Cross) finished with eight points and five boards.

Four players reached double figures for Ramapo. Jermaine Emanuel and Elvonney Poole each finished with 17 points. Terry Hicks scored 16 points and Frank Nocks added 15. Poole was nearly perfect from the floor, connecting on six of seven field goal attempts and five of six free throws.

TCNJ shot 41 percent from the floor (25-of-61), but hit just 4-of-18 three point attempts. The Roadrunners were not much better from long distance (3-of-12), but they featured a balanced attack that converted 28-of-34 free throws in the win.

The opening 10 minutes of the contest was an excerpt out of Jeckyll and Hyde as both teams ran hot and cold. The Roadrunners raced out to a 17-3 lead and held the Lions without a field goal for the first 6:10 of the game. In an incredible turnaround, TCNJ flipped the switch and rattled off 14 straight points en route to a 20-2 run that gave them a 23-19 advantage at the midpoint of the period.

The final three minutes of the first half and first three minutes after the break proved costly to TCNJ. They trailed by a single point with 3:46 remaining in the first half, and by the 17:03 mark of the second period, fell behind by 16 points. That number was the difference on scoreboard when the final buzzer sounded.

Freshman Eric Klacik (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) finished with seven points and four rebounds. Junior Jason Chalmers (Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills) and sophomore Mitch Miller (Ringoes, NJ/Hunterdon Central) each chipped in with six points.

The Lions need to produce a victory on Wednesday night when they host Rutgers University-Camden at 8 p.m. in Packer Hall. TCNJ defeated the Scarlet Raptors 69-56 earlier this season. They visit Rutgers-Newark next Saturday, who currently stands in first place in the NJAC. The top six teams earn a spot in the conference playoff tournament.