Kean Falls to Richard Stockton in Men's Hoops,
70-65
UNION, N.J. (2/20/08) - On
senior night at Kean University, guards Lamar Wright
(Galloway, N.J.) and Will Floyd (Eustis,
Fla.) combined for 30 points and eight assists in their
final regular season home game of their careers, however the
Cougars fells to Richard Stockton College, 70-65, in New Jersey
Athletic Conference men's basketball action on Wednesday evening.
Despite the loss, Kean (9-15, 4-8 NJAC) earned the third and
final seed in the South Division by virtue of a loss by The College
of New Jersey earlier in the evening, giving the Cougars their
first NJAC playoff berth since 2000-01.
Junior forward Jerome Hubbard (Neptune, N.J.)
scored a game-high 21 points and made five steals to lead the
Ospreys (18-6, 10-3 NJAC), who had already clinched the top seed in
the South Division.
In the opening half, Richard Stockton led by as many as 11 points
(25-14) midway through the half on a three-pointer by sophomore
guard Santini Lancioni (Runnemede, N.J.) with
10:38 to go in the half.
The Cougars trimmed the deficit to three points (31-28) on a
free throw by freshman guard Keith Williams (Jersey City,
N.J.) with 5:37 to go, before the Ospreys extended the
lead back out to nine point on a three-pointer by Hubbard at the
buzzer to take a 41-32 lead at halftime.
Hubbard paced Richard Stockton with 14 points in the first half,
while Wright (pictured left) tallied 12 points and four rebounds
for the Cougars.
Richard Stockton scored the first five points of the second half
on a three pointer by senior guard Mario Lancioni
(Runnemede, N.J.) and lay-up by junior Chad Davis
(Millville, N.J.) to build a 14-point lead at 46-32 just
80 seconds into the half. After the teams traded baskets on
each of their next two possessions, the Cougars reeled off 12
unanswered points to pull within 51-49 on a lay-up by junior guard
Yasien Beatty (Jersey City, N.J.) with just under
11 minutes remaining.
The Ospreys responded with five quick points to push the lead
back out to six points (55-49), but Kean again pulled back within a
single point on two separate occasions in the final 10 minutes of
action, but could never score the go-ahead basket.
In the final minute, Kean pulled within two points at 67-65
following a pair of free throws from Floyd, and had the ball with a
chance to tie the game with a three-pointer, however the Osprey
defense forced a Cougar turnover and Mario Lancioni knocked down a
pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
Wright finished with a team-highs of 17 points, nine rebounds
and five assists, while Floyd (pictured right) chipped in with 13
points, three assists and two steals in 21 minutes of action.
Freshman forward Akinwande Oshodi (Florence, N.J.)
added eight points and five steals for the Cougars.
For the Ospreys, Mario Lancioni had 16 points, including four
three-pointers, and three steals, and freshman guard Kai
Massaquoi (Lawnside, N.J.) added eight points and five
rebound in the victory.
The Cougars travel to Rowan University for the regular season
finale on Saturday, February 23. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
