GMC Hoops Summary–Stockton Hangs On To Defeat Montclair State, 59-57

Ospreys Survive Late Rally by Red Hawks for NJAC Victory

Stockton University’s Josh Blamon puts up a three point attempt late in the second half of the Osprey’s 59-57 victory over Montclair on Wednesday night.

MONTCLAIR, NJ–In a rare mid-season college hoops game for GMC Hoops, Richard Stockton out of South Jersey traveled up to Montclair State University to take on the Red Hawks in an NJAC clash.  The game also featured to former GMC standouts with J.P. Stevens and Middlesex County College alum, Myles Reuben playing for Stockton while recent Middlesex borough graduate and 1,000 point scorer, Jarrett Bogus was playing for Montclair State.

Despite the fact that the Red Hawks entered the contest at 5-6 overall, they gave a very good showing of themselves as they battled a 12-2 Stockton squad right down to the wire, and actually trailed by a point late in the second half.  Montclair even had a chance to tie the game with 0.9 seconds left, but missed two of three from the line after drawing a foul on a three point attempt from the left wing as time was running out.  Stockton, which hung on to win the contest by the score of 59-57, was led by Cinnaminson High School standout Josh Blamon, who collected a double-double of 22 points including a perfect 10 of 10 from the line and 13 rebounds.

Pleasantville native Armin Cane chipped in with 14 points including a three pointer from the right wing for a 57-51 lead with 3:26 remaining.  Former West Morris Central standout, James D’Angelo led Montclair in a losing cause with 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists while teammate Jerome Hilton added 13 points.  Looking at our local players, Reuben played 14 minutes, scored only a point, but grabbed 5 rebounds swiped a steal, and blocked a shot while Bogus played just 11 minutes including some down the stretch, but didn’t score.  Two things did Montclair state in this contest:  Offensive rebounding and free throw shooting.

According to stats provided by MSU’s athletic web site, the Red Hawks were only 11 of 21 from the foul line including several misses over the final minutes of action.  Stockton also grabbed 17 offensive boards, which they converted into 21 second chance points.  The Ospreys were also 16 of 22 from the foul line.   Montclair State shot better from the floor overall going 20 of 54 for 37 percent versus 19 of 60 by Stockton for just under 32 percent.  Montclair State also fared better from beyond the arc with an 18-15 edge in points from three while shooting 6 of 19 from the line for 32 percent versus 5 of 21 by Stockton for just under 24 percent.

On the boards, both teams were even overall with 43 rebounds, but Stockton had a 17-14 edge on the offensive glass.  The Ospreys had a 21-9 in second chance points.  Montclair enjoyed a 26-24 edge in points scored in the paint while both teams had 17 points off turnovers.  The Red Hawks also had more production from its reserves with a 14-7 edge in bench points.  The game was close throughout with Stockton’s biggest lead being 7 points while MSU’s largest lead was 8 points.  There were 2 lead changes and 3 ties in the contest.  With 6:24 remaining in the contest, Stockton held a tenuous 50-48 lead after a basket in the paint by Kendall Onnir.  Moments later, Darius Jerkins scored a basket as he was fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for a 52-48 Ospreys edge.

Montclair pulled within one at 52-51 over a minute later with a three from deep on the right wing by Shaun Russell at the 4:58 mark.  Moments later, Blamon drew a foul from Bogus, and made two free throws for a 54-51 lead with 4:41 remaining.  A little over a minute passed before Armin Cane elevated and connected on his triple from the right wing for a 57-51 advantage with 3:26 to play.  The Red Hawks didn’t give up though as they battled back into the contest by scoring 6 of the last 8 points.  The run included a layup from Russell at the 1:43 mark, and another basket in the paint by Devyn Ransom with 0:58 remaining to close the gap to one at 57-56.  The Ospreys got 1 of 2 efforts at the charity stripe from Marcus Harmon with 13 seconds left and Cane with 9 seconds to play for a 59-56 lead.

Needing a three pointer to tie the game, Montclair called a timeout with 5 seconds remaining.  On the ensuing inbounds, the Red Hawks almost got a 5 second count, but managed to get the ball inbounds, and eventually passed it to  Hilton, who fired up a three point attempt, and drew a foul with 0.9 seconds left.  He missed the first free throw, made the second, and then intentionally missed the third, but Blamon was there to get the rebound for Stockton to preserve the hard fought road victory.  With the win, the Ospreys improved to 13-2 overall on the season including a 7-1 mark in NJAC play while the Red Hawks dropped to 5-7 on the season including a 2-6 mark in conference play.  

GMC COLLEGE NOTES:  Both Myles Reuben and Jarrett Bogus didn’t have big scoring nights in this contest, but they have still made an impact for their respective schools this year.  Bogus has played in all 12 games for Montclair including 8 starts.  The former Middlesex standout has averaged 16.9 minutes, 6.8 points, and 3.8 rebounds per game.   Bogus has connected on 25 of 59 field goals and 4 of 8 from three point land while netting 27 of 40 from the foul line.  Meanwhile, Reuben has played in 12 of the Stockton’s 15 games including 9 starts.  The former J.P. Stevens and MCC standout has averaged 17.8 minutes, 5.8 points, and 3.0 rebounds per game.  Reuben has made 22 of 58 two point field goals, 12 of 37 from three point land, and 13 of 15 from the charity stripe.