2/25/23
 
BRANCHBURG, NJ – A second half surge from the hosts, fueled by 20 points from Dan Dextraze, proved to be the difference in Saturday afternoon's Region XIX DII Men's Basketball Championship, as Raritan Valley CC knocked off Lackawanna College 75-65 in Branchburg, NJ.
 
The Falcons (18-11) fought hard in the first half, leading for pretty much the entire 20 minutes, but the Lions (19-10) got a three-point shot just before the horn sounded, giving the home team a 33-32 halftime lead and a big boost heading into the break. That helped Raritan get started in the second half, as Dextraze scored 15 of the Lions first 18 points to stun Lackawanna and grab a big lead.
 
Lackawanna was able to fight back, thanks to 15 second half points from Nasir Brown (Wilmington, DE), who hit a tough fall-away jumper with a hand in his face to give the Falcons a lead at 64-63 with 5:40 remaining. Out of a timeout, however, Raritan's defense ratcheted up, holding the Falcons without a field goal for the rest of the game, outscoring Lackawanna 12-1 to close the proceedings out. Raritan shot 53% in the second half, hitting five three-point shots, three of which came from Dextraze.
 
Lackawanna shot 37% from the field for the game, and hit 32% of its three-point shots, but was just 6-for-13 from the free throw line, and shot just 33% from the field in the deciding second half. Nasir Brown (Wilmington, DE) had a team-high 17 points, 15 coming in the second frame, while Caleb Mims (Bethlehem, PA) had 15 points and Aamir Mack (Atlantic City, NJ) added 14 points. Rahmad Ali (Newark, NJ) had a team-high ten rebounds, while Mims had a team-best four assists.
 
The Lions were led by Dextraze's 28 points, 20 of which came in the second half, while Elisha White added 15 points and nine rebounds, and Eddie Davis put up 13 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Alif Bass led the Lions with seven assists, and Damon Strand had 13 rebounds and four blocks.
 
The win gives Raritan Valley CC its first Region XIX men's basketball championship, after three straight seasons of finishing second, and will send the Lions to the East District Tournament to compete against teams from Region XV and the champion from Region III next weekend. The Falcons end their season as the Region XIX runner-up and with a final record of 18-11, the most wins they've had since the 2018-2019 season, and more wins than the Falcons have had in their last two seasons combined.