Mario Lancioni (Runnemede, NJ/Triton) had 10 points off the bench for the Ospreys (10-3, 6-2 NJAC), who shut down Montclair State’s Gian Paul Gonzalez (North Haledon, NJ/Manchester Regional), holding the nation’s No. 2 scorer to six points – 23 below his season average.
Freshman guard Maurice Torres (Summit, NJ/Summit) had a game-high 24 points for the Red Hawks (7-6, 4-4 NJAC), who had their four-game winning streak snapped. Jonathan Arthur (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Stockton led by six at halftime, but quickly pushed the lead to double-digits as Holmes and Smith each scored in the first minute for a 48-38 advantage. Holmes’ three-pointer with 16:16 left gave Richard Stockton a 57-44 lead, however, Montclair State would cut the lead to five with just 10:38 to play. Torres connected on one of his six three pointers in the game to start the 14-6 Red Hawk spurt and Corey Wilburn’s (Franklin, NJ/Rutgers Prep) reverse put-back made the score 63-58.
But that would be as close as Montclair State would get the rest of the way. Sid Jackson (Brooklyn, NJ/Liberty County) began a 17-6 game-ending run for the Ospreys with a short jumper. Lancioni had five in the run while Jackson and Miguel Rodriguez (Passaic, NJ/Passaic) each had four.
Rodriguez and Jackson each finished with eight points for Richard Stockton, which shot 56 percent (15-of-27) in the second half and finished the game 31-of-58 (53 percent) from the floor. Rodriguez added seven rebounds while Jackson had five and a pair of assists.
Elliot Solop (Colonia, NJ/John F. Kennedy) had nine points off the bench for the Red Hawks. Gonzalez was just 1-of-6 from the field and was held to his lowest point total since February 2, 2005 (four points) against Ramapo. Jamal Ford (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus) had six points and four assists for Montclair State.
Richard Stockton returns to action on Monday, January 16 as they host the Bloodhounds of John Jay at 4:00 pm. Montclair State is back on the court Wednesday, January 18 as the Red Hawks entertain the Cougars of Kean University at 8:00 pm.