Stockton’s Men’s Basketball team has been having a great season, perhaps an even better season than last year. The team has defeated Kean, New Jersey City, and The College of New Jersey, whom they lost to in the 2021-22 season. This year has been much more consistent, and there’s a lot more anticipation as last year they got as far as the final 8.

The Ospreys’ #1 rival, Rowan University, cannot be ignored. They seem to be the biggest roadblock for men’s basketball this year. Games against Rowan make up two out of three of their losses for the season. Rowan has shown no signs of letting up either, winning the most recent game by 38 points. There were a lot of concerns after that loss, but the team recovered well and has since altered its game plan. The win on Wednesday night, Jan. 25th, at Rutgers-Camden as well as the win at Ramapo College last Saturday predict how the Osprey’s game has shifted for the rest of the season.

For most of the season, Kyion Flanders (#2), DJ Campbell (#4), and Kadian Dawkins (#0) have been the lead scorers. Rowan caught on and has been heavily defending the three. Since then, it appears that Coach Scott Bittner has worked to include other players in the offense. Now with Milo De Los Santos (#12) also contributing major points, the team has been able to diversify its plays. That night against Rutgers-Camden, points were scored evenly across the board, with Flanders and Campbell scoring 14 points, Jonathan Azoroh (#1) also with 14, and Dawkins and De Los Santos with 12. Having a greater range of players scoring will be a great challenge for Rowan, and can very well be what wins the Ospreys another NJAC title. Heading toward the NJAC tournament, it looks like the team is growing accustomed to this new change.

On Saturday afternoon, Jan. 28th, Stockton Men’s Basketball took on William Paterson away in Wayne, NJ. William Paterson tried to fight back in the last 10 minutes of the 2nd half, but the Ospreys held out for the win. Team leaders were Flanders with 25 points, Campbell with 16 points, and Azoroh with 13 points.

Here are the game highlights:

In the first half, Azoroh scored the first two points with an offensive rebound, and Flanders scored a three-point shot. Campbell scored with the long three-point within 2 minutes of the 1st half. Azoroh earned another rebound and put-back for 2 points. Tyvon Gaither scored with an add-1, putting Stockton in the lead 15-7. Later on, De Los Santos took his first shot of the game and added a 3-point to the total, 21-13. De Los Santos got the offensive rebound and pump-fakes, scoring another 2 points for the Ospreys, 25-16. After a dry period, Dawkins found Azoroh below and fed him in the paint, 27-21.

With 6 minutes remaining, De Los Santos was wide-open and took the long three, 30-21. Off the power dribble, he squares up behind the arch and takes the three, 33-25. With 3 ½ minutes left, Campbell (#4) soon follows his teammate making another three, 35-25. Dawkins and Gaither both increased the lead by a margin, rebounding and going up strong in the paint, 40-27. Flanders made two consecutive steals, halting Williams Patterson at 29 for two possessions. Campbell zipped a chest pass to Flanders, making another 3-pointer with 1 second remaining in the 1st half, 43-29.

The second half was a slow start for the Ospreys; the Pioneers scored the first 4 points, 43-33. A nice pass by Campbell to Azoroh resulted in an add-1 play, 46-33. The duo scored another 2 points. This time, Azoroh made a backdoor cut and Campbell skimmed a low bounce pass to Azoroh, 48-33. Campbell continued setting his teammates up for success; Flanders received his chest pass and scored another three, 51-35. Campbell took a shot for himself with the step-back, scoring two points. Flanders quieted the Pioneers’ run with a long three, 56-43.

Martin Anguelov (#14) got the three and the foul! Stockton continued with the lead, 59-46. The shot fake and lateral dribble worked for Anguelov (#14), as he landed another three, 62-48. Afterward, Campbell stole the ball right out of an opposing player’s hands, making a fast break for an easy two points, 64-52. Flanders gallantly took on the opponent’s charge, earning Osprey possession, with 10 minutes remaining in the 2nd half. He hit another three, increasing Stockton’s lead, to 67-53. Dawkins drove in and got the foul, bringing the score to 72-58.

The Ospreys maintained their composure after the Pioneers gained 10 points. Azoroh made both free throws, and Flanders added another two, earning Stockton 4 points. In the last 6-minutes, William Patterson increased the pressure on defense and tried to force turnovers. It stopped the Ospreys from scoring field goals but is ultimately lead to fouling. Flanders took advantage of these opportunities and made another 2 free throws. 

2 ½ minutes remained and Stockton had not scored; Coach Scott Bittner called a time-out, with the score at 78-69. With 30 seconds left, William Patterson made 2 free throws, nearly evening out the score at 79-73. Another timeout was called— all William Patterson needed was 2 three-pointers and they could have potentially gone into overtime. Campbell solidified the win by making his two sets of free throws, leading to the final score of 83-73.

Despite William Paterson’s efforts, the Ospreys were able to hold out, maintaining their lead all game with a final score of 83-73. Save the date for the start of the NJAC tournament, Feb 18th, to witness what this team has been working towards. Men’s Schedule: https://stocktonathletics.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2022-23