Men's Hoops Closes Out Season in
NJAC Tourney
WAYNE, N.J. (2/21/09) -
Sophomore forward Akinwande Oshodi (Florence,
N.J.) knocked down two big three-pointers in the final 66
seconds and the Kean University men's basketball team nearly erased
a nine-point deficit in the final 2:17 before falling to William
Paterson University, 53-51, in the New Jersey Athletic Conference
first round on Saturday afternoon.
Two late free throws by William Paterson sophomore Gabriel
Paul (Hillside, N.J.) and a steal by junior Bobby Dunn
(Garwood, N.J.) helped advance the NJAC North Division
second-seeded Pioneers (20-6) to the semifinal round, where they
face NJAC South Division top seed and 10th ranked
Richard Stockton College.
Junior Vinnie Darpino (Colonia, N.J.) finished
with a game-high 17 points, seven rebounds and five steals for the
Cougars, who close out the season at 12-14 after advancing the NJAC
tournament for the second straight season.
William Paterson led by as many as 11 points at 38-27 less than
five minutes into the second half and held a 10-point edge at 48-48
with 4:46 remaining before Kean mounted a comeback.
Junior forward Brian Lytle (Union, N.J.)
(pictured right) ignited a the rally with an old-fashioned
three-point play to trim the deficit to six points with 1:50 to go,
before Oshodi followed 44 seconds later with a three-pointer with
1:06 remaining to pull the Cougars to 51-48.
The Cougar defense appeared to have forced a turnover with 30
seconds left, however Dunn stole the ball right back and after the
Cougar foul, Paul hit one-of-two foul shots to extend the lead back
out to four points.
Kean had a couple looks at the basket before Oshodi knocked down
the three-pointer with 3.4 seconds left to make it a 52-51
score. The Cougars sent Paul back to the line where he made
one-of-two for the 53-51 lead with 1.3 seconds remaining. On
the long inbound pass for the Cougars, the ball made it to the
paint where it was batted around before Dunn pull the ball in along
the baseline to seal the Pioneer victory.
It was a one-possession game for the first 11:43 of the contest
until Pioneer senior Courtney Nelson (Newark, N.J.) buried
a three-pointer to give William Paterson a 18-13 lead with 8:17 to
play in the first half.
The Cougars cut that advantage to one three times during the
next five minutes, but Pioneer senior Jordan Fowler (East
Orange, N.J.) had a lay-up to spark a 9-0 William Paterson run
to end the half and give the Pioneers a 33-23 halftime lead.
Fowler had team bests of 15 points and seven rebounds for the
Pioneers, while Nelson finished with 13 points and three assists.
Oshodi (pictured left) finished with 12 points and five rebounds
for the Cougars.
