Galloway, NJ – Stockton University (9-15, 7-10 NJAC) staged a huge second half rally but fell short to Montclair State (16-9, 11-7) by an 84-81 score on Saturday afternoon. Keenan Williams Jr. (Paulsboro/Paulsboro) led the charge with a career-high 28 points for Stockton.
 
The Red Hawks took control of the game early as they forged a 46-35 lead after 20 minutes of play. Stockton briefly knotted the game at 15-15 with 13:59 left in the half, before the visitors extended their advantage. Montclair State held a 25-14 margin on the glass with 10 of the rebounds coming on the offensive boards. That margin led to nine points, which helped gain the advantage in the half.
 
Williams with eight markers, along with Steve Ferebee (Galloway/Absegami) and Brandon Hamilton (Camden/Paulsboro) with seven points each, kept the Ospreys close.
 
The Red Hawks kept up the pressure in the second stanza, stretching their lead to as many as 16 points before Stockton put on a massive run. With the score at 57-41 in favor of Montclair, the Ospreys outscored the visitors 27-14 in an eight-and-a-half-minute span to slice the lead to 69-68 with 6:42 to play.
 
Williams led the charge with 10 markers and was aided by Jordan Taylor (East Orange/Cicely Tyson) with six and Kadian Dawkins (Easthampton/Rancocas Valley) tallying five points. The Ospreys kept up the defensive pressure and took their first lead since an early 3-2 margin when Williams banged in another three-ball for a 72-71 lead with 3:18 to play.
 
After a Ferebee free throw made it 73-71, Montclair knotted the game for the last time at 73-73 with just 2:33 to play. From there, the Red Hawks were able to stave off Stockton, finishing up the game on an 11-5 spurt. Williams hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to set the final score at 84-81.
 
Williams tallied his career and game-high total of 28 points, that included 6-11 (54.5%) from behind the arc. The senior also tied for game high with three assists and pulled down five rebounds. Ferebee added 15 points and game-high three blocks while also tying Othniel Nyamekye (Irvington/Irvington) for the team lead with eight rebounds apiece.
 
Akbar Hoffman led four Red Hawks in double figures with 21 points. Myles Mitchell-White with 16 points, Irving Callendar IV with 15 markers and Jordan Roberson added 10 markers, in support of Hoffman. Roberson grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds with nine coming on the offensive glass. Montclair State held a 47-35 advantage on the boards, with 17 offensive caroms.
 
Stockton will play their final regular season game on the road, traveling to Rutgers-Newark on Wednesday night. Game time is set for 8 pm.