JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey City University men's basketball team caught #RV Stockton University by surprise on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 14, at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC). The Gothic Knights stayed with the Ospreys all game long, even holding a one-point lead as late as the 8:22 mark in the second half. Additionally, four NJCU players scored in double figures, led by senior co-captain forward Kayton Darley's (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) team- and season-best 20 points. Unfortunately, Stockton regained its lead by as many as nine points on several occasions late before taking the five-point, 79-74 win in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play.

The Ospreys (13-2, 8-1 NJAC) built up a strong 14-point, 34-20 lead with just 2:11 left in the first half, but at that point Jersey City (8-8, 3-6 NJAC) began to chip away at the deficit, closing out the half on a 6-0 run, all six of which came from junior forward Ryan Savoy (Lakewood, N.J./Lakewood) — he finished with 16 points, four rebounds, a block and a steal on Saturday — to cut it to 34-26 at the break.

Stockton hit the first bucket of the second half to stretch its lead back out to 10, however the Green and Gold then went out on a 10-1 run to make it a one-point, 37-36 game with 14:45 to go. Senior co-captain guard Jason Battle (Jersey City, N.J./Roselle Catholic) kicked it off with a jumper at 18:01, followed by a big three from Savoy. After an Ospreys' free throw, Darley answered with a layup and Battle closed out the run with another long-range NJCU splash. The Gothic Knights continued to keep it close until Stockton eventually built up another six-point lead at 50-44 with 11:02 remaining.

Jersey City answered once again, this time with a 9-2 run to take its first lead of the game at 53-52 with 8:44 left. After draining a three minutes earlier, junior guard Will Brown III (Jersey City, N.J./Hudson Catholic) started off the run with a pair of free throws. Darley then drilled yet another trey — he made three of them today — before following it up with a pair of free throws and then a jumper to put his squad up by one. After Stockton briefly regained the lead by one with a lay-in at 8:34, Darley scored on another jumper to put NJCU back on top at 55-54 with 8:22 to go in regulation.

Unfortunately, the Ospreys regrouped and put together a 10-1 run to jump out to an eight-point, 64-56 advantage with six minutes to go and eventually held a nine-point lead on a few occasions, including as late as 2:49 left with the score at 73-64. Another Darley-powered 10-4 run helped his squad make it a one-possession, 77-74 game with just 24 seconds left. Stockton hit a pair of free throws down the stretch, while NJCU missed a pair of three-point shots and the road team eventually churned out the win.

Highlights:
- Battle also chipped in 15 points to go with four boards and two steals.
- Brown finished in double-figures for the first time in a Gothic Knight uniform, adding 10 points, two rebounds and two steals.

Up Next:
The Gothic Knights return to action for two straight road NJAC clashes next week. First they travel to #RV Montclair State University on Wednesday night, Jan. 18, for a scheduled 7:30 p.m. tip. Then, on Saturday, Jan. 21, NJCU heads down to Ewing, N.J., for a 1:00 p.m. meeting with The College of New Jersey.