GLASSBORO, NJ – Connor Dickerson scored a season-high 19 points to lead a balanced effort as Rowan defeated Ramapo in an NJAC men's basketball contest today at Esby Gym. The Profs (20-4; 13-4 NJAC) increased their winning streak to five and notched their 20th win of the year for the second season with 20 or more victories under head coach Joe Crispin.
 
Dickerson connected on 6-for-9 from the field and made 5-of-7 three-pointers, while grabbing seven rebounds. Andrew Seager scored 17 points, D'Andre Vilmar netted 16 on 7-for-11 shooting and Marcellus Ross scored 13 and handed out a team-high 15 assists. Arian Azemi had seven points, but handed out six assists and registered a career-high eight steals, which was two shy of the school record.
 
Rowan led for practically the entire game, but Ramapo (5-15; 4-13) took its only lead early in the second half, 48-47, after scoring six straight. Rowan answered with a layup by Vilmar and a three-pointer from Dickerson to jump start a 15-4 run that turned into a 62-52 Rowan advantage with 13:19 remaining.
 
Ramapo pulled within 66-59 but baskets by Hafeez Melvin and Seager stretched the lead to 70-59. Up 75-63, the Profs scored eight straight, with three from Seager, to extend it to 80-63. The visitors then scored eight in a row and came within 80-71, but Azemi started a 10-0 Rowan run that sealed the win, as the Profs led 90-71 with two minutes to play.
 
In the first half, Rowan led by as much as nine, 31-22, after a seven-point spurt, culminating in a dunk by Vilmar with 6:52 to go. Ramapo answered with a 12-6 run to close the gap to 37-34 with under three minutes left, but the Profs got four straight free throws to hold onto a 43-38 lead at halftime. 
 
Rowan shot 43.1 percent from the field but benefitted from 23 Ramapo turnovers, which it converted into 27 points.
 
The Profs close out the regular season on Wednesday when they host Montclair State at 7:30 p.m. for "Senior Night" at Esby Gym.

The NJAC Championship will include all 10 teams this season and begin on February 19 when the four lowest seeds will play first-round games. The higher seeds will host all games throughout the tournament and the quarterfinals will be played on Tuesday, February 22 with the semifinals set for Thursday, February 24. The NJAC Championship games will be played on Saturday, February 26. The NJAC champion will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.