By GEORGE HUNKELE
The Ramapo College Men’s Basketball team won its second straight NJAC Title on Saturday versus six seed, William Paterson University.
The Roadrunners were lead by Thomas Bonacum, who scored 19 points and added 13 rebounds. This comes after last season in which Bonacum hit a game winning half court shot in the NJAC championship, and was the number three top play on SportsCenter. Also, over the last two seasons, the Roadrunners have posted an impressive 47-9 overall record and have gathered two NCAA tournament bids.
“I have really enjoyed being able to watch this team over the past two seasons; they can score from everywhere, play lock up defense, and play great team basketball,” said Scott Thompson, 22, Ramapo College Basketball play by play announcer.
The Roadrunners Success
Much of this Roadrunner success has come from the shooting hand of Bonacum. In the 2016-2017 season, Bonacum averaged 17.1 points per game to go with 6.6 rebounds per game. His play was awarded with multiple NJAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week Awards, and the NJAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year Award.
Other key players involved in the Roadrunners success include Sultan Aminu, Corey Soanes, Jimbo Long, Josh Ford, Nick Stanek, and Chris Mosley. Aminu and Soanes combined for 17 points per game in the 2016-2017 season before graduating.
Long, Ford, Stanek, and Mosley rounded out the starting five alongside Bonacum for the 2017-2018 season, scoring a combined 41 points per game.
The Game
The 2017-2018 Championship game was electric from the tip with over 1,200 fans in the stands. The crowd was painted in maroon and screaming out for the Roadrunners. The roadrunners got off to a good start, leading 35-26 at halftime. Then, the second half started and the crowd was on their feet, but the Roadrunners let off the gas pedal. The Roadrunners let William Paterson cut the lead to only 1 point before finally pulling away at the end of the second half.
After the win, the players formed a line at the basket, cutting a piece of the net off one by one as all the fans watched. “It was the most packed i have seen the gym in my four years of going here (Ramapo), it was crazy,” said Brandon Kurtzman, 22, Ramapo College Student.
What’s Next
The NJAC Championship win means that the Roadrunners automatically got a spot in the NCAA D3 Tournament. They will face off against Moravian Friday night and if they win they will play the winner of Williams and Bridgewater State. If they win both games, they will move on to the sweet sixteen, and their location will be determined for next Friday.
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This was a well written story that had good links, pictures, a good audio clip and had great background information to allow the reader to truly understand the Roadrunners success before they won the big game against William Paterson. There was clear evidence of reporting as you were able to describe what happened in the game and what will happen in the future as well as a good quote from the play by play announcer. It shows you went to the game and did your research without having to rely on links or anything to tell you. Overall, great story!