Men's Basketball Drops 84-76 Decision to Richard Stockton in Season Opener

GALLOWAY, N.J. -- Richard Stockton held off a furious second half rally by Bridgewater State (0-1) and opened the 2013-14 season with an 84-76 victory on Friday night at the Stockton Tip-Off Classic.

Nnamdi Usuwa (Avenel, N.J.) scored a career-high 23 points to lead Stockton.
 
The Ospreys (1-0) charged to the lead in the first half on the strength of blistering 66.7% (18-27) shooting to forge a 42-26 advantage at the break. Stockton, who never trailed during the game, stretched the lead to 37-20 before settling for the 16-point lead at the half. Usuwa tallied 15 of his game-high 23 markers during the first stanza, with Josh Blamon (Cinnaminson, N.J.) contributing 10 markers and James Williams (Englewood, N.J.) adding nine points.
 
The Bears (0-1) started strong in the second half, ripping off a 12-5 run to close within nine at 47-40 but the Ospreys regrouped and stretched the lead to 19 at 72-53 with 9:17 remaining in the game. Bridgewater would not wilt though as they kept the pressure on, using a 23-8 spurt to cut the Osprey lead to 80-76 with 32 seconds left. A Rich Suhr (Toms River, N.J.) bucket and two fouls shots from Usuwa sealed the final score.
 
In addition to Usuwa, Blamon tallied 20 points and a team-high three steals. Kevin Johnson (Paulsboro, N.J.) added 12 points, including 10 in the second half. Usuwa also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds for Stockton.

Kyle Gibson (Franklin, Mass.) tallied a team-high 21 points and six rebounds to go along with three assists for Bridgewater State. Teammates Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass.) and Brendan Montiero (Brockton, Mass.) adding 16 and 14 points respectively.  Monteiro tallied nine of his 14 points during the late second half 23-8 run.  Garey Allen (Windsor, Conn.) chipped in with 10 points and five assists for  as the Bears who shot 62.5% (20-32) to get back in the game during the second half flurry.

Bridgewater will take on Plattsburgh State on Saturday at 5:00 PM, while Stockton will face Plattsburgh on Sunday afternoon at one.