Richard Stockton claims the 2013-14 NJAC Championship - Mar 9, 2014

25th-ranked Richard Stockton (23-4) used a 19-0 run in the second half and cruised to a 65-44 win over William Paterson (21-6) to win their seventh NJAC championship in front of a season high 1,031 fans. Stockton enjoyed a 53-29 advantage on the glass that turned into 26 second-chance points. Gerry Matthews squad won their first NJAC title since 2009 and earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
The Ospreys, who never trailed in the contest, started slowly, as did the Pioneers. Both teams shot a combined 18-56 (32.1%) in a defensive struggle during the first 20 minutes. The Ospreys led by 10 points at 17-7 as Josh Blamon (6'2''-F) (Cinnaminson/Cinnaminson) scored seven points and James Williams (6'2''-G) (Englewood/Englewood) hit two three-pointers. The Pioneers chipped away to cut the Osprey lead to 29-23 at the break. Blamon and Williams topped Stockton with eight points each during the stanza.
The second half saw the Ospreys extend the lead to nine as Blamon opened the scoring with a three-pointer, but William Paterson fought back to within 35-31 with 14:56 to play. Stockton took the game over from there as they ran off 19 consecutive points to lead 54-31 with 6:19 remaining in the contest. Williams led the charge with five markers and six Stockton players scored during the spurt. From there, Stockton cruised home to their eighth straight win, 65-44.
Blamon led all scorers with 17 points and Williams added 13 markers. Nnamdi Usuwa (6'4''-F) (Avenel/Colonia) scored 10 of his 12 points during the second half and grabbed 10 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass. Rameel Johnson (6'0''-PG) (Newark/Science Park) snatched a team-high 11 boards and scored nine points, with Kevin Johnson (5'9''-PG) (Paulsboro/Paulsboro) dishing a game-high five assists and pilfering two steals. Rich Suhr (5'11''-PG) (Toms River/Toms River East) led all players with three steals.
The win gave head coach Gerry Matthews seven NJAC championships over four different decades (1980's, 1990's, 2000's, 2010's). The Ospreys also earned their 14th NCAA Tournament berth and first since 2010. Stockton is now 7-7 all-time in NJAC championship games and 3-3 versus William Paterson in league title matchups.
Javae King-Gilchrist (6'2''-G-91) topped the Pioneers with 15 points while Jaques Conceicao (6'3''-G) added 11 points and 11 boards.

Courtesy of NJAC

NJAC Tournament Final: Richard Stockton - William Paterson 65-44

NJAC Tournament Semifinals:
Richard Stockton - Kean 64-63
William Paterson - Rutgers-Newark 75-66

All-NJAC 1st Team 2014

Blamon

Brackett

Goldson

King-Gilchrist

Snow