New Jersey City University Athletics

JERSEY CITY, NJ…In a matchup between the favorite for the New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year and a top candidate for NJAC Player of the Year honors, New Jersey City University freshman small forward RASHAWN SMALLS (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) set a career-high with 24 points and registered his sixth double-double of the year, but #13 ranked Richard Stockton College received 20 points, five rebounds and four steals from junior point guard Santini Lancioni (Runnemede, NJ/Paul VI), and despite shooting 35.1 percent from the field, held on to defeat the Gothic Knights, 65-57 in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game Saturday night on Charlie Brown Court at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center. 

            
The win for the Ospreys was its fifth straight as they improved to 17-2 overall and 6-1 in the NJAC South Division. RSC, the defending NJAC Champion, is ranked #13 in the latest D3Hoops.com national poll. NJCU still leads the all-time series, 39-28.

NJCU, which dropped its fourth straight, is now 6-10 overall and 2-5 in the NJAC North Division with six league games remaining.  NJCU must finish 7-2 the remainder of the regular season to avoid a losing campaign, which would be the program's first since the 1974-75 season—and to break .500, something its has done the last 38 years. Both are the second longest active streaks in Division III.

The game was played as part of Homecoming 2009/Green & Gold Days and the Gothic Knights are now 1-5 on homecoming since it became a winter activity.

In addition to setting a new career high in points, Smalls, whose previous career high was 23 on two occasions, registered his sixth double-double by grabbing 12 rebounds. He also collected three blocks and two dunks. Smalls, a five-time NJAC Rookie of the Week and this week's NJAC Player of the Week,has a team-high 20 dunks on the season. He shot 10-of-20 from the floor and 3-of-6 from three-point range.

Lancioni shot 7-of-16 from the field, but entering with a .900 free throw percentage and was just 6-o-9 from the line.RSC got 15 points (6-12) and nine rebounds from junior forward Omar Smith (Newark, NJ/Central) and 10 points from sophomore guard Michael Farrow (Whitesboro, NJ/Middle Twp.). Senior forward Jerome Hubbard (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) chipped in nine points and nine rebounds (eight defensive).

NJCU amassed 13 blocks in the game, led by three players with three apiece, including Smalls, freshman center TAQUAN ABDULLAH (Kenilworth, NJ/David Brearley) and freshman shooting guard IBN TOWNES (Newark, NJ/Westside). But Smalls was the only player in double figures in scoring for NJCU.

Senior guard KYLE INGRAM (Sicklerville, NJ/Winslow Township) finished with nine points (1-8 3FG) while sophomore power forward TOM McDERMOTT (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) had seven points and seven rebounds. Junior point guard JOSH LOPEZ (Jersey City, NJ/St. Mary's (Jersey City)) led the team with six assists but committed five turnovers. 

The lead switched hands six times early on in the first half that was dominated by Smalls, who scored nine of the Knights' first 11 points. The Ospreys took the lead back for good when Smith drained a jumper from the top key to make the score, 16-15, with just less than eight minutes. 

RSC took a 31-24 lead into halftime. Despite just shooting 27.3 percent (9-27) in the first half, the Ospreys connected on 12-of-14 free throws (.857) to maintain the lead. NJCU shot just 37.9 percent (11-29) and struggled from long distance, connecting on just 1-of-9 three-pointers (.111).

Stockton's lead would balloon to 15, 58-43, with 5:43 left, on a Smith jumper. The Knights would close to within six again late, as Lopez drilled a three at the end of an 11-2 run that cut it to 60-54 with 36 seconds left, but the Ospreys made five of six foul shots to seal it.