No one had to tell sophomore guard Luciano Lubrano about the importance of Tuesday night's Garden State Athletic Conference clash against visiting Cumberland County College.
He knew.
And as a result -- thanks to Lubrano's solid 15-point effort and tough, tenacious defensive play -- the Roadrunners ran away with an easy 86-60 triumph for RCGC's 16th straight win to improve their overall record to 19-2.
Lubrano knew the importance of the league and Region XIX contest to the Roadrunners' status within the local standings and national rankings.
He knew he and several teammates were going up against the very team they played for last season -- a team that came into the game with a solid 11-5 record.
More importantly, Lubrano knew the importance of keeping up the Roadrunners' recent streak of solid team chemistry and defensive efforts.
"It's a league game and right off the bat you know how important it was," said Lubrano, who is averaging 12.5 points per game. "And yeah, I know a few people on their team.
"But all that mattered is that we played well and kept our team chemistry going."
Head coach Will Wareham could not have agreed more.
"Our focus tonight was to improve our defense and keep our team chemistry going," Wareham said. "This is our third straight game where we held an opponent to season lows -- so that means a lot. "
Aside from Lubrano, the Roadrunners received 20 points from forward Stevynjaamad Hawkins, 18 from guard Tyler Lunsford, 14 from forward Ja'Zere Noel, and 10 from forward Stan Martin off the bench. Lunsford added seven assists while Hawkins pulled down 12 rebounds.
The Runners, No. 10 in the most recent NJCAA Division III National Rankings, jumped out to a commanding 38-25 halftime lead thanks to 11 points from Hawkins and 10 from Lunsford.
They kept the momentum going in the second half with solid scoring efforts and a barrage of blocked shots and steals in a tantalizing defensive outing.
Next up for Wareham's team will be Delaware County Community College on the road Saturday in a 1 pm start.
