IN NJAC TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
(Pomona, NJ) – Sixth-seeded Ramapo (18-9) rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half to edge second-seeded Richard Stockton (17-9) 57-54 in an NJAC men’s basketball tournament semifinal tonight. With the win, the Roadrunners advanced to Saturday’s NJAC championship game at William Paterson (2 pm start). Ahmad Mosby (Jersey City/St. Anthony), Antoine Pryor (Elizabeth/St. Patrick) and Quameir Harding (Jersey City/Ferris) scored 15 points apiece for Ramapo. Jamall Jenkins (New Brunswick/New Brunswick) grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds.
Tobias Smith (Newark/Bloomfield Tech) paced Stockton with team highs of 16 points and eight rebounds. Mario Lancioni (Runnemede/Triton) tossed in 14 points for the Ospreys. In the second half, Stockton shot just 24.1 percent from the field and scored only 18 points.
Stockton led for the entire first half as Ramapo struggled with 29 percent shooting, including just 3-16 (18.8%) from three-point range. The Ospreys matched their biggest lead of the half at 10 points (36-26) on a layup by Derrick Williams (Atlantic City/Atlantic City) at the first-half buzzer. Lancioni led all players with 12 first-half points and Mosby countered with 10 markers for Ramapo.
In the second half, Stockton built a 40-26 lead on a jumper by Smith with 16:23 to play. Pryor and Harding scored all the points in a 15-2 run that pulled Ramapo within 42-41 with 10:14 on the clock. Ramapo later took its first lead of the game, 49-48, on a three-pointer by Mosby at the 4:46 mark. Smith answered with a three-pointer for Stockton 23 seconds later that put the Ospreys on top 51-49.
Ramapo regained the lead at 55-54 on a layup by Timothy Wesley (Jersey City/Lincoln) with 2:10 to play. Stockton had its chances but missed three shots and committed two turnovers before Harding sealed the 57-54 victory with two free throws with just 1.9 seconds left.
Ramapo will play for its second consecutive NJAC championship on Saturday at 2 pm when the Roadrunners visit top-seeded William Paterson. The Pioneers advanced with a 67-61 win over fifth-seeded Rutgers-Newark in tonight’s other NJAC tournament semifinal game.