Box Score

POMONA, N.J. – A last-second chance at a game-winning basket did not fall as William Paterson (19-7) lost at Richard Stockton (20-6), 67-66, in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Men's Basketball Tournament championship game March 1 at Stockton's Sports Center. 

Neither team led by more than two during the second half until the 5:00 mark, when Gabriel Paul (Hillside, N.J./Hillside) completed a one-and-one for a 59-55 score. After a Stockton miss, Paul was again fouled when he came down with the rebound, and made a pair at the line for a 61-55 edge (4:20). Stockton's Jerome Hubbard made two shots from the charity stripe (61-57, 4:03), but after a hard foul by Kai Massaquoi at the 2:29 mark, Jason Cameron (Cliffside Park, N.J./Cliffside Park) was able to step to the line and make both free throws for a two-possession game at 63-57. 

Omar Smith's layup pulled Stockton back within four (63-59, 2:00), and a Pioneer turnover resulted in a basket and one for Mario Lancioni (63-62, 1:35). Paul answered with an old-fashioned three-point play of his own (66-62) during the next possession, but Hubbard was able to nail a three from the left wing to cut the lead to one (66-65, 1:08). 

Senior guard Seve Cousins (Haledon, N.J./St. Joseph's Regional) was fouled as he drove to the basket, but he was unable to find the bottom of the net on either attempt with 39.7 seconds remaining. The Ospreys' Hubbard then drove the lane and found Jon Greene on the right block, who was fouled and made two from the stripe to give Stockton its first lead since the 10:05 mark, making it a 67-66 score with 12.7 seconds to play. 

Cousins drove the lane but had the ball knocked loose, remaining WP's possession with 5.0 seconds left. William Paterson had one last chance, but Paul's off-balance 16-footer was short of the rim and Stockton corralled the loose ball for the NJAC title. 

Cameron finished with a game-best 22 points, making six of 12 (.500) three-pointers. Paul had 16 tallies and four rebounds, while sophomore Bobby Dunn (Garwood, N.J./Johnson Regional) chipped in eight points and five assists.

Hubbard scored 19 points to lead for Ospreys in double figures. Lancioni added 12, Santini Lancioni added 11 and Kevin Brown scored 10. 

For the game, William Paterson shot 48.8 (20-41) percent and 47.6 (10-21) percent from three, while Richard Stockton was 25-for-55 (.455) overall and 10-for-18 (.556) from beyond the arc.

Two Cameron three-pointers and a Paul fast-break layup staked the Pioneers to an early 8-3 lead (18:23), and a transition jumper by Paul one minute later made it a 10-3 score. The Ospreys, the South Division champion and the tournament's overall top seed thanks to a 78-75 victory against WP Feb. 9, engineered an 11-4 spurt of their own to tie the score at 14-14 (11:20), the start of an 18-6 run that gave the Ospreys their largest lead of the opening stanza at 21-16 with 6:45 to play. 

After a Lancioni three-pointer gave the Ospreys a 30-24 advantage with 1:45 on the clock, Cameron drained back-to-back threes, and Dunn scored a trey of his own with six seconds remaining, giving the North Division-champion Pioneers a 33-32 lead at the break. 

Cameron led all scorers at halftime with 15 points on 5-for-7 (.714) shooting from beyond the arc. Paul had six points, making three of four (.750) from the field, and Dunn added three points to his five assists. 

Brown led Stockton with eight points during the first 20 minutes, while three others had six tallies. The Ospreys outrebounded the Pioneers 17-10 during the first half, including an 11-2 edge on offensive rebounds, but WP shot 57.1 (12-21) percent from the field compared to Stockton's 40.6 (13-32) percent effort. Both teams were efficient from three-point range, as the Pioneers made seven of 12 (.571) from deep and the Ospreys were 4-of-8 (.500) during the opening stanza.