NJAC Tournament semifinals:
Stockton 86, Rutgers-Newark 73

Pat Kelly

Boxscore
Richard Stockton (20-6) advanced to the NJAC championship game for the third consecutive season, this time with an 86-73 victory over Rutgers-Newark (20-7). Balanced scoring and a tenacious defense that forced 19 turnovers earned Stockton the victory. Pat Kelly (Cape May CH/Wildwood Catholic) led six Ospreys in double figures with a season-high 19 points. Kelly was 5-10 from three-point range.

Santini Lancioni (Runnemede/Paul VI) tallied 16 points, including 15 in the second half. Lancioni also added a career-high eight rebounds as well. Omar Smith (Newark/Central) registered his fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Kai Massaquoi (Lawnside/Haddon Heights) added 13 points, Michael Farrow (Whitesboro/ Middle Twp.) scored 11 and DiAndre Brown (Sicklerville/Camden Co. Tech) chipped in with 10 for the Ospreys.

Stockton raced out to a 9-2 lead to begin the game and took a 35-25 lead into the locker room after leading by as much as 13 in the period. Kelly hit four three-pointers for 12 first-half points. Another trey by Kelly in the second half capped a seven-point spurt that put Stockton ahead 51- 35 with 11:43 to play, but Rutgers-Newark got to within four at 54-50 on the strength of a 15-3 run.

The Ospreys responded with a three-point play by Smith followed by five consecutive free throws from Lancioni for a game-clinching 8-0 spurt that ended with Stockton leading 62-50 at the 4:48 mark. Including Lancioni’s five free throws, the Ospreys scored 25 of their last 29 points at the line and finished 31-40 (77.5%) from the stripe in the second half to maintain their lead and win the NJAC semifinal 86-73.