Galloway, NJ – Stockton University (1-0) opened the 2017-18 season in thrilling fashion with an 87-82 overtime win over Wesley College (0-1) on Wednesday night. Kashaun Barnes (Toms River/Manchester Twp.) led the Ospreys with a career-high 30 points.
 
The Wolverines came out on fire, leading by as many as 12 points, 28-16 at the 8:10 mark of the first half, before Stockton crawled back into the contest. An 8-0 run by the Ospreys closed the gap to 28-24. Four points by Zavon Johnson (Trenton/West Windsor-Plainsboro South) spurred the surge.
 
Although Stockton closed the gap, the visitors held on for a 35-32 advantage at the break. Brian Cameron hit 5-6 three-pointers for 17 points for Wesley in the first half. Barnes paced the Ospreys with 11 markers before the break.
 
The Wolverines kept the pressure on Stockton early in the second half, stretching out to a seven-point margin at 45-38. Once again, the Ospreys battled their way back and took their first lead since the opening minutes at 49-47 on a tip-in by Kelvin Tull (Millville/Millville) with 14:14 to play.
 
Marcus Harmon (Whitesboro/Middle Twp.) scored eight points during a 12-4 run that gave Stockton a 65-58 lead with 8:33 remaining. Wesley would not give in as they sprinted out on a 10-0 run to regain the lead at 68-65 with 5:16 left in regulation.
 
After Cameron banged in another three to give Wesley a 71-67 margin at 4:49, baskets by Tull and Onnir Kendall (Williamstown/Williamstown) plus two foul shots each by Barnes and Steve Ferebee (Galloway/Absegami) put Stockton up 75-71 with 1:32 to play.
 
Four points by the Wolverines knotted the game for the 12th time at 75-75 with 23 second left. Stockton had one last chance to win in regulation but a shot from behind the arc by Kendall missed at the buzzer and the game went to overtime.
 
With the score knotted at 77, Harmon hit a three-pointer that gave Stockton the lead for good at 80-77 and Barnes followed with two free throws for an 82-77 count. Wesley made it a one-possession game at 82-79 but Barnes answered with a four-point play that upped the lead to 86-79 with 1:44 left. That proved to be the clincher and the Ospreys prevailed 87-82.
 
Barnes tallied 19 of his career-high 30 points in the second half and went 13-15 from the charity stripe on the night. Harmon notched 18 markers while Ferebee scored a career-high 16 points. Tull added nine points to set a career high. Harmon and Ferebee grabbed eight boards apiece, with Harmon swiping three steals and dishing four assists to top the squad.
 
JW Lawson tallied 25 points, 21 in the second half, and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to lead Wesley. Cameron added 24 points, with Evan Anderson and Paul Clemons scoring 14 and 10 points respectively.
 
Stockton will host the Stockton Tip-Off Classic starting Friday night when they face Centenary at 6 pm. The tourney continues on Saturday at 1 pm.