By Ann Brunn
Staff Writer
With a 87-76 victory over William Paterson University on Wednesday, Feb. 19, the men’s basketball team won the regular season title in the New Jersey Athletic Conference for the first time since the 1997-1998 season. The win locked the College in the No. 1 seed in the tournament, as well as a bye to the semifinals.
Ending the regular season with a 14-4 conference record, senior guard Randy Walko led the Lions past William Paterson University with 23 points and nine rebounds. Junior forward Travis Jocelyn tallied 19 points and six rebounds as senior guard Ryan Jensen added 14 points. Sophomore center Danny Bodine chipped in with 13 points and went 4-of-4 from the field while junior guard PJ Ringel grabbed 11 rebounds.
Starting the season 4-6, the Lions turned it around to go 13-2 down the stretch. With the No. 1 seed comes home-court advantage throughout the NJAC Tournament, and the men are 9-1 at home. Their sole loss came in a close game early in the season against Stockton University, the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
The Lions will face Rutgers-Newark University in the semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. in Packer Hall. If victorious, the men will play the winner of the Rowan University versus Stockton University game on Saturday, Feb. 29, in Packer Hall.
