Rams Fall in Season Opener at Ramapo

Rams Fall in Season Opener at Ramapo

Ramapo College - 80, Farmingdale State - 70

Mahwah, N.J. - The Farmingdale State men's basketball team opened their season last night at Ramapo College (3-0). Despite controlling the pace of the game in the first half, the Rams (0-1) trailed at the half to the Roadrunners, 30-40, but could not catch up after the break, falling 80-70.

In the first half, each team pushed ahead by only four points over the first 18 minutes of play. Junior guard Mike Campbell (Bronx, N.Y./Samuel Gompers) put away six baskets for Farmingdale State, sinking 14 total points. Ramapo shot 16-41 (39%) behind the Rams, 13-31 (42%) from the field.

At the start of the second, Farmingdale pulled within five at 18:07 after senior guard Damien Santana (Brooklyn, N.Y./Grady) sank a jumper. They moved just three points behind just under two minutes later when Santana hit a shot from behind the three-point arc, 41-44. The teams traded baskets over the next minute until two three-pointers and a few free throws gave Ramapo a 12-point advantage with 11:55 to play. Ramapo held a double-digit lead until the 2:37 minute mark when Rams senior forward Davon Jackson (New York, N.Y./Rice) sank a three-pointer to get his team within eight, 66-74. The Roadrunners put together a 6-0 run to go up 14 with 35 seconds to play, and held on until the buzzer to grab the ten point win. The Roadrunners went 11-26 (42%), while Farmingdale netted 40 second half points sinking 17 baskets on 36 attempts (47%). Santana posted 16 points in the second.

Campbell finished the game with a team-leading 24 points, while Santana totaled 20 points and four steals. Senior forward Erastus Shannon (Amityville, N.Y./Copiague) had 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

The Rams will now travel to Albright College this weekend for the Wyndham Reading Tip-Off Tournament in Reading, Pennsylvania. Farmingdale will face Montclair State on Friday, November 21st at 6:00 p.m., and will play on Saturday against the winner of John Jay/Albright at either 6:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m.

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