The Ramapo College men’s basketball team won the regular season New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) for the second straight year after their win Wednesday night over Rowan University. They finished the regular season with a 19-6 record, and 15-3 in the conference.
Since they won the regular season title, the Roadrunners will have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs as long as they keep winning. They received a bye for the first round of the tournament and patiently awaited the winner of the Montclair State v.s. Rowan game. The Redhawks of Montclair State were able to come out victorious in a hard fought game on Saturday.
Senior point guard James Long said, “A lot of preparation goes into a game like this. For now we’re trying to work on our offense and defense and sharpen everything up.” The Ramapo defense has been pretty strong all season. At the conclusion of the regular season according to ncaa.org, Ramapo ranked 41st out of the 416 teams that qualified in the nation for points allowed per game with 67.6.
Aside from the great play from the Roadrunners this season, playing at home for them is a huge advantage. Over the past two seasons they are 23-1 at home including 10-0 this season. Their lone loss came in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season to Keene State. “It’s a great feeling being able to host again. Being able to play in our comfort zone and in front of our fans is very important. They give us extra energy,” said Thomas Bonacum, a senior forward.
This season Ramapo and Montclair State split in the two games they went head to head in. Each team won their home game. In the first meeting, the Roadrunners won by 24 points. However, the Red Hawks are a different team since that November 29 matchup. They are 13-6 since that game including a 14 point win over Ramapo.
Audio: Click the bold text below to listen to Ramapo College student Connor Walsh with his prediction for the game
I’m really excited to go to the game tonight. I think Ramapo has what it takes to get back to the finals
Tip-off for the game will be at 7pm on Wednesday. Ramapo athletics is promoting a maroon out for the game. All Ramapo students and fans are encouraged to wear maroon to show support for their Roadrunners. If you cannot make the game, there is always the option of live streaming the game.
The winner of this game will go up against the winner of TCNJ and William Paterson. That game will be played on Saturday with the higher seed hosting. Ramapo is looking to win their fourth championship and repeat as conference tournament champions for the first time in school history.
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This was a very well written story filled with a lot of information. I would suggest linking things like the team record so that you could see the whole division/conference standings, as well as box scores to the other games that you mentioned. Besides that, the links were great and informative. Once you add in some subheads to break up the story a little bit it’ll be perfect. Good work!