Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's basketball team suffered a 77-68 setback to Stockton University in New Jersey Athletic Conference action on Wednesday night in Packer Hall.
 
The loss drops the Lions to 11-7 on the season and 6-5 in the NJAC. Stockton won its fourth straight and moves to 13-5 overall and 8-3 in league play.
 
Down by double digits for a good portion of the game, TCNJ never let up and forced the Ospreys to play hard all 40 minutes to earn the conference win. Junior Eric Klacik (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) was 5-for-9 and led TCNJ with 17 points. Freshman Jordan Glover (Lawrence, NJ/Lawrence) finished with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Sophomore Eric Murdock, Jr. (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater) added nine points.
 
Senior Armin Cane, junior Maurice Hart, Jaymere Hadden, and sophomore Marcus Harmon all reached double figures for Stockton. Hart poured in a game-high 19 points, while Cane and Hadden scored 14 apiece. Harmon chipped in with 13 points.
 
The Lions were out of sync in the opening minutes, enabling the Ospreys to build a 21-8 lead. A 12-4 run, cut the deficit to five, but Hart got hot from the outside. Consecutive three-point field goals by the junior forward pushed the visitor lead back to 34-22 and they entered the break with 36-22 advantage.
 
In the second period, Stockton sustained its momentum and stretched its lead to 56-35. A three-point field goal from Klacik, two free throws from Elias Bermudez (Westwood, NJ/Westwood), and three more from Klacik trimmed the Osprey lead to 13 points with 7:28 to play.
 
Down 15, Klacik struck again from behind the arc to keep the Lions energized. Freshman Kevin Bloodgood (Oceanport, NJ/Shore Regional) then found nothing but net from six feet behind the three-point line, and the deficit was single digits for the first time since midway through the opening period.
 
TCNJ played hard to the finish, but Stockton took care of the basketball and made their free throws to secure the road win.
 
Bermudez finished with eight points and boards.
 
The Lions will get back on track on Saturday night when they visit Rutgers-Newark for conference match-up slated for 8 p.m.