Thursday night's marquee matchup between No. 12 nationally ranked RCSJ Gloucester and No. 3 Brookdale never materialized into the close encounter Runners' Men's Basketball Coach Rich Casey hoped for.

The host Jersey Blues grabbed an early lead and never let go, claiming an 89-75 GSAC and Region 19 triumph to raise their record to 18-1 overall.

The loss boiled down to one key factor, said Casey.

"We played poor defense and we never recovered," Casey noted. "It's that simple. Brookdale is a solid team and you have to be ready right from the start."

Quan Rogers and Josh Randall led the way with 19 and 17 points respectively for the Runners while teammates Khayri Ransom (14) and Eriq Campbell (13) also hit twin figures. But the Jersey Blues, thanks to their smooth offensive production, held a steady lead throughout the game.

Brookdale raced out to a 40-28 halftime lead and maintained that advantage through most of the second half by outscoring the vistors 49-47. They held a 19-point lead at one point, and beat back an RCSJ rally that closed the gap to 10 points.

The Jersey Blues produced five players in double figures, led by Nick Williams with 19 and Kevin Matteo and Darnell Askew with 17 apiece.

Next up for the Runners will be a road game at Bergen County CC Saturday in a 2 pm tipoff.