NJAC Struggles for Rowan Men’s Basketball By Jacob Keppen/Sentinel of GC Sports Writer
Published Week of 12/13/2018 Sentinel of Gloucester County Weekly Newspaper Print Edition
It hasn’t been the ideal stretch as of late for Rowan Men’s Basketball. After starting out the season to a scorching hot 4-0 record, Rowan has come to a screeching halt. After a rough stretch of conference play Rowan currently sits at a 5-3 record, more importantly they stand 2-3 in the conference.
Rowan’s bad stretch started with a close 79-75 home loss to TCNJ. It just wasn’t Rowan’s night as they shot subpar from both the 3-point line, an abysmal 26%, and the foul line, 68%.
The Lions had five players in double digits scoring, with Guard Randall Walko leading the charge with 19 points. In their next loss to NJCU, a 76-68 losing effort, it was the same story. Rowan couldn’t hit anything from the 3-point line (27%) and were below average from the foul line (65%).
Lavrone Green put up a game high 20 points, while shooting 3-5 from three. NJCU had 5 players reach double digits scoring, including Shaquon Worthy who also contributed 4 rebounds and assists as well. For Rowan Nick DePersia put up 18 points and 7 assists.
NJCU did a good job making Rowan pay for their turnovers, earning 52 of their points off of turnovers. Rowan would not right the ship on their next game in Galloway against Stockton, falling to the Ospreys 67-58.
Steve Ferebee led the charge for the Ospreys with an efficient 18 points, while also grabbing 7 boards. Nick DePersia led the Profs on the stat sheet, putting up 22 points in a losing effort.
Stockton killed Rowan from the 3-point line, hitting an efficient 39% in the victory. It was the same story for Rowan, with bad three point shooting and foul shooting killing the Profs. In desperate need of a victory, Rowan came up with one of their best performances of the year in a 89-86 upset of conference rival Ramapo.
Ramapo entered the game with one loss on the season, looking very much like a strong competitor for the NJAC title this year. Rowan once again looked like a team. A lot of times during their losing streak it didn’t look like Rowan gelled as they had earlier in the season. A bit part in righting the ship was senior guard Rob DePersia. In his first game back since the loss against TCNJ DePersia posted consistent numbers across the board. DePersia’s value isn’t always shown on the stat sheet though. He is a valuable playmaker for the Profs who’s a great veteran presence on the team. He was surely missed in those losses to NJCU and Stockton.
Rowan finally looked like the team was saw in the beginning of the season in the upset of Ramapo. They were hitting their 3s (38% from the 3-point line), they were more efficient holding onto the ball (only 18 turnovers), and most importantly they looked like the played as a team again. This victory over Ramapo is a huge one. Not only did they stop their losing streak, not only did they beat a tough NJAC contender, they looked good as a team. This could be a sign that the ship has been righted after some struggles. The upcoming games against William Paterson and Eastern will truly tell if the Profs are truly back.