Baruch 68, #5 Stockton 67

Omar Smith

Boxscore
Fifth-ranked Richard Stockton (0-1) fell to Baruch (1-0) 68-67 on a three-pointer at the buzzer in the 2009-10 season opener. Omar Smith (Newark/Central) led a quartet of double-digit Stockton scorers with a game-high 15 points, plus eight rebounds. Santini Lancioni (Runnemede/Paul VI) and Michael Farrow (Whitesboro/Middle Twp.) tallied 14 points apiece. Sophomore transfer DiAndre Brown (Sicklerville/Camden County Tech) added 12 points and eight boards in his first game for Stockton.

The Ospreys trailed by one late in the game before a jumper by Smith and a three-pointer from Lancioni gave Stockton a 67-63 lead with 1:59 to play. Baruch clawed back to within 67-65 on a layup with 1:15 remaining. After Stockton missed a free throw, Baruch missed a three-pointer but grabbed the rebound. A pass deflection by Smith resulted in a held ball with 2.2 seconds remaining, and on the in-bounds play, Baruch drained the game-winning three-pointer as time expired for the 68-67 upset.

Baruch opened up a 25-17 lead with 8:42 left in the first half that proved to be the largest gap of the game. Stockton battled back and the score was tied at 35 at the half as Farrow led everyone with 14 points but Baruch shot 7-14 (50%) from three-point range. Stockton’s largest lead was five at 53-48 on a trey by Pat Kelly (Cape May CH/Widlwood Catholic) at the 11:39 mark of the second half. The Ospreys later led by four with 1:59 on the clock before Baruch scored the last five points to win the game.