NCAA Tournament first round:
#6 Stockton 79, Rensselaer 65

Jerome Hubbard

Boxscore
No. 6 Richard Stockton (26-2) advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament by defeating Rensselaer (15-13) 79-65. Jerome Hubbard (Neptune/Neptune) tallied a season-high 30 points as the senior drained 9-of-14 shots from three-point range. Santini Lancioni (Runnemede/Paul VI) added 14 points and a game-high nine assists. Kai Massaquoi (Lawnside/ Haddon Hts.) tied a career high and paced Stockton to its 14th consecutive win with 11 rebounds.

The game swung back-and-forth in the first half with 10 ties and no lead bigger than five. The Ospreys could not stop the Red Hawks’ three-point barrage as Rensselaer made 6-of-9 shots from downtown. Overall, the Red Hawks shot 58 percent and out-rebounded Stockton 22-12 in the first 20 minutes of play. Hubbard countered RPI’s three-point accuracy by shooting 6-9 from beyond the arc himself and scoring 20 of Stockton’s 40 first-half points en route to a 40-40 tie at the break.

In the second half, the Ospreys were able to control the tempo and build an insurmountable lead. Three three-pointers by Hubbard and emphatic dunks by Massaquoi and Michael Farrow (Whiteside/Middle Twp.) highlighted an 18-3 run that gave the Ospreys a 58-45 lead. Stockton’s advantage reached 18 points, 72-54, on two Lancioni free throws with 6:10 to play, and the Ospreys led by double digits the rest of the way in posting the 79-65 victory.