By Jacob Keppen – Sports Writer Sentinel of Gloucester County Weekly Newspaper
Published in Print Edition Week of Jan. 24, 2019
Rowan’s most important stretch of the season came after their 2nd place finish in the Sponaugle New Year’s Tournament. With out of conference play wrapped up, Rowan needed to finish strong against their conference rivals. Standing at a middling 3-3 in conference record, there were a lot of questions regarding just how good this Profs team was. Could they win the big conference matchups and have a big tournament run, or was their middling conference record indicative on how the rest of the season was going to go? Rowan would answer those questions with a big two weeks of NJAC dominance.
Rowan made a big statement at home, defeating a very tough Montclair State Red Hawks team 71-61. It was a collective team victory, with no player really taking over. Rowan were able to take care of the ball, only 11 turnovers, while causing their opponents to cough up the ball 23 times in the victory. Great shooting from the three point line, 40%, did not hurt the Profs either.
They would make an even bigger statement by clobbering Kean 98-70. Everything went well for Rowan in this game, they shot well from every area on the court. The most promising stat from the game was their 80% shooting percentage from the foul line, they will need to continue hitting their foul shots if they want to finish big games. Nick DePersia led the Profs with 16 points, hitting 4 three pointers, and dishing out 5 assists. DaRon Curry also added 15 points while Ramon Wright added 5 assists.
Rowan had quite a scare on the road against Rutgers-Newark. It has not been the Scarlet Raiders season this year. Despite having a solid season out of conference, sitting at a 9-8 overall record, Rutgers-Newark have a dismal 2-8 record in the NJAC. Despite their struggles, The Scarlet Raiders nearly pulled off the upset, falling to the Profs in overtime 76-71. It wasn’t the usual type of game from Rowan. Instead of getting solid contribution across the board, with no one really standing out but the entire team looking good, three players had huge games for Rowan. Nick DePersia was on fire, scoring 23 points, while DaRon Curry put up 22 himself. Ramon Wright contributed a solid 15 points but no one else was able to really kick it into another gear. Rowan were not able to get the same contribution from their bench as they usually would.
The big thing about Rowan’s 105-76 thumping of Rutgers-Camden in their next game was their ability to bounce back after a bad game. After nearly losing to a team that on paper they should beat, they put that game behind them to put in a dominance performance in their next contest. Everything went right for Rowan here. They could not miss from the field, from the 3 point line, nor from the foul line. The Profs had 6 players reach double digits scoring, with many others closing in on that mark. It was a dominating victory that saw many younger players get a chance to play in an NJAC game and they thrived.
The biggest game of the season was Saturday’s clash of the NJAC titans between the top seeded New Jersey City and the #2 seeded Rowan. NJCU got the better of Rowan 76-68 in their December matchup. This time Rowan would get their revenge, defeating NJCU 84-80. It was the DaRon Curry show in the Esby gym, with the senior guard putting up a career high 27 points. The Deptford native grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out 3 assists. Rob DePersia was a great creator for the Profs, dishing out 6 assists in the victory. While not lighting it up from outside, shooting 30%, the Profs were able to score at will inside, scoring 44 of their points inside the paint.
Rowan are on top of the NJAC conference now, standing with a 14-4 overall record and an 8-3 NJAC record, 3-3 seems like so long ago. There’s no time to celebrate their victory for Rowan, with huge in conference away games against 11-6 (7-3 in the NJAC) TCNJ, and 13-5 (7-4 in the NJAC) Ramapo.
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