Galloway, NJ … A spectacular post-season run by The College of New Jersey men's basketball team came to an end in the New Jersey Athletic Conference championship game as Stockton University won its third consecutive NJAC title by a score of 60-53.
 
The Lions (16-12) battled the Ospreys (21-6) to the bitter end, but came up just shy as Stockton leaned on its veteran leadership to pull out the championships game down the stretch.
 
TCNJ capped its finest season in nearly two decades, reaching the tournament final for the first time since the Lions last won it in 1998.
 
Trailing by just two points with under a minute to play, TCNJ gave Stockton all it could handle. The lead changed hands five times during the second half with neither team establishing complete command until the final 10 seconds.
 
The Lions had three players in double figures, led by sophomore Eric Murdock, Jr. (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater) with 16 points. Junior Eric Klacik (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) and freshman Jordan Glover (Lawrence, NJ/Lawrence) each finished with 13 points.
 
As they did so well throughout the tournament, TCNJ jumped ahead early. They built a nine-point lead in the opening period as the Ospreys struggled from the floor. Maurice Hart hit a jumper with 11:28 remaining in the half and Stockton would not register another point until Hart sank a free throw with 3:44 left on the clock. The Ospreys did get things going with a 12-2 run, but Murdock, Jr. drained a three-pointer with 10 seconds on the clock to send the Lions to the locker room with a 25-22 advantage.
 
Stockton took its first lead of the second half at 32-30 when Tom Catanoso hit a three-pointer with 16:41 left in the game. Glover quickly gave the Lions the lead back with a three-point dagger a minute later. The lead would exchange hands three more times over the next five minutes as the contest evolved into a fierce battle of resolve.
 
Trailing 45-41 with 7:12 to play, Murdock, Jr. stepped back to nail a three-point shot to make it a 45-44 game. Armin Cane drove in for a layup followed by another Catanaso trey, but Klacik drove the baseline and fought his way in for a bucket to draw the Lions back within four points.
 
Osprey Marcus Harmon saved his first bucket of the game for a big spot as he connected from behind the arc to put Stockton up seven with 2:09 to play. But as he did so many times in the tournament, Glover found the bottom of the net from the right corner to draw within four points at 55-51 with 1:30 to play. Glove was 14-of-18 in three-point field goal attemtps during the playoffs.
 
After an Opsrey turnover, Klacik somehow found a gap in the lane and scooped in a layup to cut it to two points. Hart, however, responded with a layup and a free throw.
 
Harmon delivered two more free throws in the final seconds to secure the conference championship and NCAA championship tournament automatic bid.
 
TCNJ returns 16 of its 17 players next season and will also have Bobby Brackett return to the lineup in 2016-17.