MAHWAH, NJ – Senior Austin Kearney was a perfect 9-for-9 from the field and scored a career-high 24 points, while classmate Maliq Sanders had 22 points, as sixth-seeded Rowan (15-11) defeated third-seeded Ramapo, 94-80, in the first round of the NJAC Championship Tournament. It was the Profs' sixth straight win and propelled them into the NJAC Semifinals at No. 2 Stockton on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
 
Kearney, who also hit 3-of-3 three-point attempts, missed his only shot of the game at the foul line, going 3-for-4, and Sanders made four three-pointers in the road win. Jerry Price scored 16 points and tied his career-high with eight assists. Ryan O'Leary scored 11 and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds and Diante Bah tallied 10 points for Rowan, which has won seven of its last eight games. Matt Green came off the bench to hand out a career-high nine assists.
 
The first half was nip and tuck until the Profs made their move. Trailing 19-8, Rowan outscored the home team, 21-6, over seven minutes to take a 36-25 lead with 4:27 to go in the half. Kearney had eight points in the run, with two threes, and Sanders also connected on a pair of three-pointers. A slam by Sanders off a pass from Kearney extended it to 41-27 with 3:01 left and the Profs took their biggest lead of the half, 45-30, on a fastbreak dunk by Matt Green and then maintained that margin with a 45-32 halftime lead.  
 
Rowan, the defending NJAC champion, connected on 55.1 percent (16-for-29) from the floor in the half and made 7-of-18 threes, while Ramapo hit just 2-of-9 three-pointers.
 
Rowan opened the second half with threes from Kearney and O'Leary to stretch the margin to 53-21. But Ramapo didn't fold, and when trailing, 57-38, scored eight consecutive points to come within 57-46 at 16:10. O'Leary hit a three-pointer to break the scoreless streak and give the Profs a 60-46 cushion.
 
Ramapo had a few more runs that pulled the Roadrunners within nine points, but the Profs had an answer for all of them.
 
Trailing 83-69 at 5:07, the Roadrunners made their final push, first with a 6-0 run until Kearney connected to put the Profs back up by 10. After a pair of free throws pulled Ramapo within 85-77, Kearney made his ninth field goal of the game, and the ensuing foul shot, to give Rowan an 88-77 lead with 1:01 remaining. Price and Damian Smith combined for 6-for-6 from the line in the final minute to seal the victory.
 
"I'm proud of our guys. They came out on the attack together. Ramapo made a tough run in the second half, but we responded well. Winning up here is tough, so it feels good to get a playoff victory," said Rowan head coach Joe Crispin, on what was the first win at Ramapo in his four seasons. "Austin was tremendous and all of them really played off each other and stayed on the attack. It was fun to see."
 
Ramapo, which ends its season at 15-11, was led by Rob McWilliams with 28 points.
 
Tickets for the NJAC Semifinal at Stockton on Wednesday are $5 for adults and $2 for students, senior citizens and children.