Galloway, N.J. – Stockton University (17-4, 12-3 NJAC) opened up an 18-point lead in the second half and held off a pesky William Paterson (10-10, 7-8 NJAC) squad for an 89-81 victory. Stockton shot 41.2 percent (14-34) from three-point range and four Ospreys scored in double digits.
DJ Campbell (Vineland/Vineland) poured in a game-high 27 points, highlighted by 5-10 (50%) from beyond the arc.
Jonathan Azoroh (Ewing/Ewing) went 7-9 from the floor, including his first career three-pointer, for a career-high 16 markers.
Kyion Flanders (Wildwood/Wildwood) and
Kadian Dawkins (Eastampton/Rancocas Valley) contributed 13 and 11 points respectively.
Jamar Johnson (Penns Grove/Penns Grove) gave Stockton some nice minutes off the bench with seven points and five rebounds, both season highs.
The Ospreys briefly trailed 17-16 before going on a 15-4 run to build a 31-21 lead. Azoroh led the charge with seven straight Stockton points, capped by his three-pointer. The Ospreys increased the lead to 16 in the last minute of the half before taking a 42-29 advantage into the break.
In the second half, a layup by Flanders gave Stockton its largest lead of the day at 54-36 with 15:30 on the clock. The Pioneers responded with a 20-7 run to get within five at 61-56 but the Ospreys eventually built the lead back up to 13 at 78-65 with 4:49 to play.
WPU continued to play very hard, clawing within four on four occasions down the stretch, however Campbell answered with points each time. He swished a three-pointer off the dribble with 33 seconds left that made it 85-78 and proved to be clincher.
Overall, Campbell scored Stockton's last 11 points of the game over the final 1:53 to lead the Ospreys to the 89-81 triumph. The junior finished with 20 of his 27 points in the second half.
Domenic Mignone and Jason Cepeda paced William Paterson with 19 points apiece. Adryan Lopez and Nick Rodriguez each tallied 11 points for the visitors.
Stockton will continue its three-game homestand by hosting DeSales University, which has a 19-2 record, on Monday at 6 p.m.
