Ewing, N.J. – Stockton University (5-3) scored the last seven points of the game to upend previously-unbeaten The College of New Jersey (7-1) 65-58 and advance to the NJAC championship game for the second straight year. The 7-0 run snapped a 58-58 tie in a contest that Stockton led by as much as 18 points.
Luciano Lubrano (Ocean City/Ocean City) sank three three-pointers and scored a game-high 16 points.
Kyion Flanders (Wildwood/Wildwood) registered a double-double with 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
Nick Duncsak (Toms River/TR North) also hit double figures with 10 points.
Stockton scored 19 points off 20 TCNJ turnovers and snapped a four-game losing streak to the Lions, who were the defending NJAC champions after topping the Ospreys 75-60 in last year's NJAC title tilt. Stockton sank 10 three-pointers while TCNJ shot just 5-25 (20%) from beyond the arc.
After falling behind 7-0 in the opening three minutes, the Ospreys controlled the remainder of the first half.
Milo De Los Santos (Hopewell Valley/Hopewell Valley) sank a three-pointer that snapped a 17-17 tie and ignited a 16-4 Stockton run that gave them a 33-21 lead.
Flanders and
DJ Campbell (Vineland/Vineland) scored five points apiece to lead the charge. Behind eight first-half points by Lubrano and seven from Flanders, Stockton led 35-24 at the break.
Early in the second half, Duncsak drained a pair of three-pointers 32 seconds apart that extended the advantage to 18 points, Stockton's largest of the night, at 42-24. The lead slowly melted away as TCNJ proceeded to outscore the Ospreys by 18 over the next 15:30 to pull into a 58-58 tie with 2:34 on the clock.
On the ensuing possession,
Tariq Baker (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Anthony's) buried a three-pointer to give Stockton the lead for good at 61-58. TCNJ missed its last five field goal attempts while the Ospreys scored their final four points at the free throw line to seal the 65-58 triumph.
PJ Ringel paced the home team with 14 points followed by Anthony DiCaro with 12 points and Jason Larranaga with 10.
Stockton, the No. 5 seed will play at No. 2 seed New Jersey City in the NJAC championship game next Friday, March 19 at 8 p.m. The teams split their two regular-season meetings, with Stockton winning 85-73 and then falling 67-65 on a buzzer-beater by Denzel Banks.
