North Branch, NJ - The Raritan Valley Community College Men's Basketball team opened their 2023-2024 campaign on the road verse Region 15 foe Rockland Community College. The Lions came out firing on all cylinders and opened the first five minutes of the game with a 12-4 lead thanks to a pair of threes from Damon Strand and Tim Godwin. The Haws were able to build some rhythm on the offensive end and cut the Lions lead to 2 with under 5 minutes remaining in the half. The Lions finished the first half strong amassing a 10 point lead of 48-38 going into the intermission.
RVCC opened the second half with great effort on both ends of the floor and within the first 4 minutes of the half were able to double their lead, with a 62-42 score. The Lions were able to control the pace throughout the rest of the second half and went onto a 95-72 victory. Damon Strand led all scorers with 28 points and was one of five Lions to reach double figures. Val Julien added 17 points, Alif Bass chipped in with 11, Elisha White added a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds and Travon Blount scored 10.
The Lions traveled down to Baltimore, MD for the Donald Beasley Mixer hosted by CCBC Dundalk. RVCC faced a formidable opponent in the Bryant & Stratton Bobcats from Virginia Beach, VA. The first half was highly competitive and physical. Both teams exchanged the lead multiple times with Bobcats holding onto a 3 point lead going into the half.
The Lions started the second half strong offensively and were able to take the lead thanks to a 3 pointer from Val Julien. RVCC continued to click on the offensive end and were able to build their lead up to 9 points. Alif Bass keyed the Lions during their run and he was able to create for others and himself. Bass filled the stat sheet with 9 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Bryant & Stratton continued to chip away at the RVCC lead and cut it to a one possession game with under 2 minutes left. The Lions were able to come up with several key stops down the stretch and went onto win 78-73. Damon Strand scored a game high 30 points and Elisha White had another double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
RVCC played their final game of the mixer Sunday morning verse Pitt Community College from North Carolina. The Bulldogs were able to jump on the Lions and took a double-digit lead at the midway point of the first half, leading 29-16. The Lions were able to string together some stops and came back with an 11-2 run of their own cutting the lead to 31-27. Pitt again was able to extend their lead back up to double digits leading 45-35, but the Lions responded with a 6-2 run to end the half trailing 47-41.
The second half began with both teams exchanging buckets for the first couple minutes. The Lions were able to tie the game at 65 with 9 minutes left in the game. RVCC still was unable to get over the hump and take the lead until the final 30 seconds of the game. A putback by Travon Blount gave RVCC their first lead of the game and some clutch free-throws by Blount iced the game for the Lion win 83-79. Damon Strand scored a game high 22 points, Travon Blount added 17 points and 14 rebounds, Tim Godwin had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Alif Bass had another good overall game with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 5 steals.