Box Score 

POMONA, N.J. – In a re-match of the 2008 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Men's Basketball Tournament title game, No. 13 Richard Stockton (13-2, 3-1 NJAC) once again came up with a one-point victory, this one a 77-76 decision in four overtimes against visiting William Paterson (10-2, 2-1 NJAC) Jan. 10. The teams came within one missed free throw of tying the NCAA Division III record of five overtimes, a feat that has happened on four occasions.

William Paterson owned its last lead at 54-52 with 58 seconds remaining in regulation, and trailed by five points during both the first and second overtime periods. The Pioneers were down two when Tim Lucas (Old Bridge, N.J./Old Bridge) was fouled with three seconds to play in the fourth overtime, and the junior guard made the first free throw to make the score 77-76. A perfect 7-for-7 from the line at that point, Lucas' second shot was off the mark, but Manny Perrotte (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) grabbed the offensive rebound. His jumper in traffic was blocked by Stockton's Michael Farrow as time expired.

The Pioneers owned a 22-21 edge at halftime after falling behind by as many as six during the opening 20 minutes, and stretched it to four after senior forward Jordan Fowler (East Orange, N.J./Montclair) opened the second-half scoring with a three-pointer. Richard Stockton erased that lead by the 16:02 mark, and owned its largest second-half advantage at 37-32 with 11:32 to play. With the score knotted at 50-50 with 3:04 on the clock, Fowler converted a jumper to give WP a two-point edge (52-50, 1:35) before Omar Smith drained a pair of free throws to again forge a tie with 1:18 remaining. Senior guard Courtney Nelson (Newark, N.J./Bloomfield Tech) knocked down a jumper with 58 seconds left to again nudge the Pioneers into the lead, but Kevin Brown's layup with 48 seconds on the clock tied the contest at 54-54. William Paterson had one last chance during regulation, but Nelson's shot missed the mark and Fowler's tip-in was no good, sending the two teams to overtime.

The Ospreys scored the first five points of the first extra session, but William Paterson fought back. Lucas was successful on two free throws, and following a Smith jumper, junior Joseph Ellis (Newark, N.J./Newark Science) splashed in a bucket for a 61-58 score with 2:10 to play. Smith made one of two free throws before a Nelson trey, and Ellis' one-for-two effort at the charity stripe tied the score at 62-62 with 25 seconds left.

Stockton again started strong, scoring the first five points of the second OT. Trailing 69-64 with 1:10 left, Ellis once again connected from long range, and Nelson later converted a jumper to tie the score at 69-69 during the final 10 seconds.

Showing the effects of the back-and-forth battle, neither team could muster much offense during the third overtime and fouls began to take their toll, as Nelson joined Bobby Dunn (Garwood, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) on the bench with five fouls. A Santini Lancioni basket and a Fowler layup were the only points as the two teams finished the period deadlocked at 71-71.

Brown started the fourth OT with a layup, but Ellis answered with a pair from the line to tie the game at 73-73 with 3:29 on the clock. Back-to-back layups by Smith and Lancioni pushed the Ospreys ahead by four (77-73, 2:34), but an Ellis jumper made it a one-possession game less than 30 seconds later. Stockton missed two straight three-pointers, snagging both rebounds but unable to attempt a third after a shot-clock violation. Ellis then missed a three of his own and Farrow came away with the rebound for the Ospreys, but Jerome Hubbard was unable to keep the possession and turned it over with 17 seconds left. Lucas had a chance to tie the contest from the floor but was fouled, and was 1-for-2 from the line during the game's final three seconds.

Ellis paced William Paterson with a game-high and career-best 26 points. He added two steals and a career-high seven rebounds. Nelson added 19 points and four assists, and Fowler collected 14 points and seven rebounds for the Pioneers. Dunn finished with a team-high nine rebounds.

Smith led Stockton with a team-high 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for a double-double. Lancioni and Brown scored 12 points apiece for the Ospreys. Smith played 56 of a possible 60 minutes, while Lancioni and Hubbard each played 51 minutes.

The Pioneers' two losses this season have come by a total of two points. The other decision was a 68-67 defeat after a last-second game-winning shot at Gordon Nov. 22. The loss to Stockton snapped an eight-game win streak for William Paterson, and marked the second straight time that the Ospreys defeated the Pioneers by a single point, as Stockton won a 67-66 affair in the 2008 conference tournament final in Pomona (March 1).

William Paterson will return home to face Ramapo Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 8:00 p.m.