STOCKTON FALLS TO WESTERN CONNECTICUT 69-63

Kevin Johnson

Boxscore

Richard Stockton (1-4) got back on the court the day after Thanksgiving but fell to host Western Connecticut (3-1) 69-63 in the Hampton Inn Classic.

Kevin Johnson (Paulsboro/Paulsboro) led the Ospreys with a team-high 21 points while DiAndre Brown (Sicklerville/ Camden Co. Tech) chipped in with 15 points and nine rebounds for the Ospreys.

Bill McDonough (Spring Lake/St. Rose) also grabbed nine boards to tie with Brown for team-high honors on the glass. Statistically speaking, the game was very even. Each team finished with 25 field goals but West Conn outscored Stockton 14-9 at the line and sank one more three-pointer than the Ospreys for the six-point differential.

Stockton got off to a great start as Brown scored six early points to lead the Ospreys to a 14-4 advantage in the first six minutes. Brown later sank a jumper with 2:55 on the clock that gave Stockton a 31-26 advantage but the Colonials scored the last eight points of the half and pulled ahead 34-31 at the break.

After Johnson scored the first basket of the second half, West Conn used a 14-2 run to open up a 48-35 lead with 15 minutes to go. Stockton chipped away at its deficit and closed within 58-57 after a layup by Salman Yusuff (Vineland/Vineland) with 4:11 remaining. The Ospreys then went scoreless for the next 3:30 and suffered the 69-63 defeat.