Roadrunner Classic Day One roundup
SEWELL (N.J.) - The 38th annual Roadrunner Classic kicked off with a pair of games at Rowan College of South Jersey on Friday night.
Williamson College of the Trades cruised past Manor College, 74-67, in the opening contest. The Mechanics jumped out to a 16-0 lead in the first half and established a 43-23 advantage at intermission.
Ridley (Pa.) graduate Jack Grace led Williamson with a game-high 22 points, including five three-pointers in the opening half. Newark (De.)'s Robert Whiley added 14 points and Howard (De.) product Cashmere Young contributed 12 points.
"It always good to start off a game like that," Grace said. "Especially coming in, we're having a rough start to our season. There's a lot of fire under us. Our coach is out with family stuff so we're up here playing for him."
The Mechanics advanced to the Roadrunner Classic championship on Saturday at 5 pm.
"I think it's only up from here," Grace added. "We learned a lot tonight. We learned how to play as a team together. We have a lot of young guys, they're all great players, we just got to bring it all together. Hopefully this is the start of something big."
Nottingham product Nasir Collins powered the Blue Jays with a team-high 16 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists. Abington (Pa.) grad Sam McFarlane added 14 points, four rebounds and three assists. Nissir Cook, a Philadelphia Academy Charter (Pa.) graduate, added 11 points and four rebounds. Colonia product Larenzo Jackson recorded 10 points and four rebounds.
The host Roadrunners (7-1 record) held off fiesty Ocean County College, 72-69, in the second contest of the evening.
Delsea graduate Jerry Surrency scored a game-high 23 points off the bench, including four free throws in the final two minutes to help clinch the victory. Surrency scored 16 points in the first half.
"I'm used to coming off the bench," Surrency said. "I got used to my role. Came off the bench, gave my team a spark that we needed. I knew I had to score or do something."
Lindenwold product and former South Jersey Sports Zone All-South Jersey Honorable Mention Eriq Campbell added 18 points. Josh Randall, a Gloucester Institute of Technology alum, tallied 14 points.
Rowan College of South Jersey (Gloucester) will host Williamson in the Roadrunner Classic championship on Saturday at 5 pm.
"Ocean played great," Surrency said. "They had shooters. I thought we had closed the door, but they came back and kept fighting. Our team was just a little bit stronger."
Pinelands graduate Josh Kline paced the Vikings with a team-high 20 points, eight assists, eight rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Toms River North product Ethan Paul added 19 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. Dallas Weisse, a Jackson Liberty graduate, contributed 19 points and eight rebounds. Weisse finished 5-for-12 on three-point field goal attempts.
Ocean County College dropped its record to 2-2 and will play Manor College in the Roadrunner Classic consolation game on Saturday at 3 pm.