Stockton Men's Basketball Team Edges William Patterson in Overtime

After blowing an eight point lead in the second half, the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey men's basketball team wasn't about to blow the game.

First, the Ospreys were able to keep pace with New Jersey Athletic Conference opponent William Patterson, sending the game into overtime.

Then, it was Matt Haddix who provided the team with the winning points in Stockton's 52-49 win in overtime of the conference game Saturday afternoon at Stockton College.

"Our coach said it was going to be a war," sophomore Nmamdi Usuwa said. "We played as hard as we could. We played harder than they did, and came out with a win."

The Ospreys managed to tie the game late in the second half with a tip-in after the foul shot by junior Pat Kelly, sending it to overtime. 

"Both teams played like it was a war," Stockton coach Gerry Matthews said. "We got lucky when [Pat Kelly] scored on the foul shot."

But the players all shared the same sentiment when asked what the key factor was in the victory.

 "Defense," said Kelly. "Coming together and playing hard as a team, and playing though adversity."

"We had to play defense," said junior Colin Horsch. "Coach always preached to us that this is a war. About four minutes left in the game our coach called a timeout and said we needed to get tougher."

Defense wasn't the only thing that won the game for Stockton. Offensively, Horsch made a career high 11 points, and he was one of four players scoring in double figures. 

Usuwa finished with a double double (13 rebounds and 13 points). Senior Kai Massaquoi and Horsch each scored 11, while Kelly contributed 10 points.

"We knew it was going to be a low scoring game going in because William Patterson plays zone," said Massaquoi. "We ducked down and made the little plays we needed to win."

Matthews, who previously commented to patch.com that the team needed to work on discipline and consistency, has gained some confidence in his team's overall play.

"I think they've gotten better because we've had some close games" said Matthews.

With a tough schedule ahead starting with Ramapo next week, the team seems confident, and is determined to bring their best game.

"The next three games are tough. Ramapo might be the best team in the league," said Matthews. "If we play with the same effort that we had today, we'll be in it again."

Each player pointed out something to focus on for the road ahead.

"We need to work better," said Usuwa. "We need to keep our poise especially with these division games. We need to hit the gym."

"We need to keep getting better," said Horsch. "We need to rebound better."

"We need to work on our transition defense," said Kelly. "We need to make fewer turnovers.  We had more than we should have."

"We need to focus more on free throws and stay together as a team," said Massaquoi. "We've got to stay positive and learn how to maintain at the end of the game."

The Ospreys will hit the road for Ramapo next Saturday at 1 p.m.