Rowan Basketball Bouncing Back By Jacob Keppen
Rowan’s huge victory over NJAC rivals Ramapo was a sign for the Profs. It showed that they were ready to bounce back after a rough stretch and get back to conference contender status. On the road against NJAC rival William Paterson, Rowan earned a key conference victory. With the 76-66 victory the Profs moved to a 6-3 record, 3-3 in the NJAC conference. After a rough stretch early on against conference opponents, the Profs are now back to .500. Senior guard Rob DePersia had an all around great game, contributing 14 points, six assists, and seven rebounds. Freshman Connor Dickinson led the Profs with 17 points, while senior forward Ramon Wright contributed 14 points.
Rowan had a big game defensively against the Pioneers. They’re stifling defense kept William Paterson to a low 34% from the field, and caused 27 turnovers. Senior forward Teirique Robinson was a defensive star against William Paterson, blocking five shots while also earning two steals. The DePersia brothers were a nightmare for the Pioneers offense, with Rob earning five steals and Nick earning seven.
On the other side of the ball, Rowan were very efficient from not only the field, shooting 47%, but from the three point line as well, shooting 38%. Rowan also did a good job limiting the turnovers, only coughing the ball up 20 times.
In their next game against Eastern, Rowan cruised to a 95-56 home victory. It was a complete team effort for Rowan, with 14 players seeing the court in the win. DaRon Curry led the charge for the Profs with 16 points. Rowan would see Nick DePersia (14 points) as well as a trio of: Rob DePersia, Austin Kearney, and Brian Thatcher (all with 11 points) get into double digits scoring.
Rowan did everything well against Eastern. The offense shot efficiently from all areas on the court. The offense also only turned the ball over 10 times in the contest! On defense, Rowan held Eastern to an abysmal 32% from the field.
Everything was clicking on both sides of the court for Rowan in the victory over Eastern, and they’ll need that momentum to carry over into their big game against Salisbury on December 22. The Maryland located team are currently undefeated with a 9-0 record and are a top 25 team in division 3 basketball. The home game will be Rowan’s biggest test of the year and could be a huge statement game for the Profs.
Looking past Salisbury, Rowan will compete in the Sponaugle New Year’s Tournament on December 29-30 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Profs have a tough opening match against 5-3 Keene State University. The Owls have faced a tough schedule so far this year, playing two teams currently ranked in the top 25 in division 3. They dropped their early season matchup to #8 MIT but defeated #25 Middlebury. They will be an extremely tough test for Rowan.