Glassboro NJ: The Rowan Profs Men’s Basketball (21-5) cruised their way to victory by knocking off fifth seed The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) Lions (10-16) with a score of 96-83. This semi-final win allows the Profs to host the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship Final this Friday against Stockton University.
Semi-Final Recap
TCNJ attacked the basket early looking for an upset win that would send them to their first NJAC final since the 2019-2020 season. Rowan has been on the hunt all season long to avenge last year’s championship loss, only losing five games throughout the regular season.
Junior Marcellus Ross cashed in on back-to-back threes, which gave Rowan their first lead of the game at 9-6. With TCNJ attacking the rim early and playing aggressive, Ross and senior Andrew Seager showed composure and dominated in the early stages of Tuesday night’s semi-final game.
Ross started the game red hot going 3 for 3 from deep, while Seager earned himself a quick nine points to boost Rowan’s lead to 21-12 with 12:58 to go in the first half. Ross and Seager scored 18 out of the first 21 points to help jumpstart Rowan's journey to victory.
Once Seager and Ross earned their first rest of the game, it was time for junior Ja’Zere Noel to drop some buckets. Noel scored six points in just two minutes to help push Rowan's lead to 31-19 with 7:18 to play. Noel transferred to Rowan this season and led the entire NJAC in scoring this regular season averaging 19.9 points.
TCNJ fought hard in the first half, not allowing this explosive Rowan squad to take control of the game. Nayshawn Burch scored four points in the final minutes of the first half to cut TCNJ's deficit to 45-34 heading into halftime.
TCNJ came out of the locker room motivated to crawl themselves back in this game. They went on a quick 5-0 run to trim Rowan’s lead to 54-47 with 16:14 to go. Seager decided it was time to change the tide of the game once again. He knocked down a 3PT shot and then on the ensuing possession, he threw down a put back slam dunk with only one hand that increased Rowan’s lead to 61-47 with 14:30 left.
This put-back dunk ignited a spark on this experienced Profs roster as they turned on the big guns. Rowan found themselves up 72-54 with under ten minutes to play and you could start to sense this crowd believed they would host the NJAC championship game this Friday.
Sophomore Pat Higgins who led TCNJ with 23 points, and his teammates did all they could in the final stages of the game. It was inevitable that their season was coming to a close but continued to fight hard against the number one seed. The experience and depth of this Prof’s roster help them overpower TCNJ and bring them one step closer to a NJAC championship banner.
Rowan was led by their 'Big 3' of Ross (22pts), Noel (20pts), and Segar (16pts). They were three out of the five players who dropped double figures for the Profs and have done this on a nightly basis which has once again sparked a championship run.
Rowan Looks to Revenge Last Year’s Championship Loss
With this win over TCNJ, the Profs have now earned the rights to host the NJAC Championship game this Friday against Stockton University (22-4). The Stockton Ospreys just came off an exciting win on their home court beating third seed Montclair State 91-86. Rowan was just five points shy from knocking Stockton University in last year's NJAC Championship final, falling 95-91. Rowan has dominated the NJAC all season long with a record of 16-2, with their two losses coming after they clinched the number one seed in the NJAC championship.
Stockton currently has three losses in NJAC play, with two of those losses coming against Rowan earlier this season. Back in November Rowan beat Stockton for their first NJAC victory of the season,109-98. The second time around Rowan dominated them with a score of 107-69. Rowan has had the upper hand on them this season, but Stockton has recent experience knocking off Rowan in the big championship game.
The depth that Rowan has on this roster has been the key to their success all season long. With the addition of Noel this could benefit the Profs tremendously in this year’s championship game. He could ultimately become the determining factor that helps the Profs overcome last year’s four-point championship loss against Stockton.
On the hunt to return to the championship game all season long, they have finally successfully achieved this goal Tuesday Night. With a similar roster from last season from both team’s this should become an instant classic between two rival NJAC schools.
Tune in Friday Night at 7 p.m. when Stockton will travel to Glassboro, New Jersey, to take on their biggest conference rivals for a chance at an automatic bid for the 2022-2023 NCAA Division III Tournament.
