Wayne, N.J. – Stockton University (13-7, 10-3 NJAC) broke open a tie game with 55 points in the second half and defeated William Paterson (9-11, 5-8) 86-79.
Kyion Flanders (Wildwood/Wildwood) and
Kadian Dawkins (Eastampton/Rancocas Valley) tallied career highs with 23 and 14 points respectively.
Flanders also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and added two assists, two blocks and two steals. Dawkins shot 6-9 (67%) from the floor. Senior
Jordan Taylor (East Orange/Cicely Tyson) notched his first career double-double with 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
Steve Ferebee (Galloway/Absegami) chipped in with nine points and nine boards while
Luciano Lubrano (Ocean City/Ocean City) contributed career bests of eight rebounds and five assists. The Ospreys dominated the glass 52-39 and scored 20 second-chance points.
The margin was never more than five points in a tight first half that ended in a 31-31 tie. Flanders shot 5-10 from the floor and tallied 13 markers before halftime. Stockton struggled from long range, shooting just 2-13 (15.4%) from beyond the arc.
The lead reached seven at 48-41 on a Taylor jumper six minutes into the second half. After William Paterson scored six points in a row to make it 48-47, Ferebee and Taylor hit three-pointers followed by an old-fashioned three-point play from Taylor that pushed the lead to double figures at 57-47.
Stockton had its largest advantage at 12 points, 63-51 on another trey by Taylor at the 9:02 mark and again at 65-53 on two free throws by Flanders with 8:34 to play. From there, the Ospreys remained comfortably ahead by a gap of 6-12 points for the rest of the game to post the 86-79 triumph.
Taylor led the second-half charge with 12 points on 4-5 shooting followed by Flanders and Dawkins with 10 counters apiece. Ferebee tossed in nine markers as the quartet accounted for 41 of Stockton's 55 second-half points. The Ospreys went 4-9 (44.4%) from beyond the arc and 21-31 (67.7%) at line in the period.
Up next, Stockton will host Rowan University on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
