Ewing, NJ … Led by an incredible shooting performance by senior Eric Klacik (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge), The College of New Jersey men's basketball team defeated Stockton University 77-71 on Wednesday night in New Jersey Athletic Conference action.
 
The victory is the sixth straight for the Lions (14-5, 10-2) and the second this season over the conference defending champions. The Ospreys dropped to 9-8 on the season and 4-7 in the NJAC.
 
Klacik scored a career-high 31 points in the game, knocking down eight three-point field goals in the match. He was 9-of-15 from the floor and drained eight longs balls on 13 attempts. The 31 points was the most by a Lion since teammate Eric Murdock, Jr. (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater) netted 36 against New Jersey City University in last year's conference playoff semi-final.
 
TCNJ was in control throughout the game, but they could not shake Stockton until the final minute. The Ospreys drew within four points on a Khaliq Ford jumper with 1:30 to play, but Jordan Glover (Lawrenceville, NJ/Lawrence) took a short feed from senior Bobby Brackett (Lawrenceville, NJ/Lawrence) and banked in a lay-up to ice the win.
 
Klacik did not take long to heat up, scoring all eight points in an 8-0 run in the opening minutes. He hit three-pointers on consecutive possessions and then drove inside to scoop in a lay-up. The Lions led by as many as 11 points midway through the opening half, but Stockton methodically chipped away at the deficit. They drew within three points when Darius Jenkins dropped in a free throw with 5:10 remaining. Klacik answered with his fourth bucket from long distance to make it a 27-21 game.
 
A 10-3 run by the Ospreys gave them their first lead of the game at 31-30 on a Zavon Johnson lay-up. After regaining the lead on two Stanford free throws, Klacik buried his fifth haymaker of the half with five ticks on the clock to match his career-high of 21 points and put TCNJ up 36-32 at the break.
 
Brackett was 5-of-7 from the floor in the second half and finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. That ninth board tied him with former Lions' standout Jimmy Glover (father of Jordan Glover) for third all-time in career rebounds with 811.
 
The Lions assisted on 20 of 24 field goals in the game, led by Murdock, Jr. who dished out nine. He also added 10 points and is now just 21 points shy of becoming the 24^th player in program history to reach 1,000 points.
 
For Stockton, four players reached double figures in the game. Johnson registered a team-high 13, while Ford and Tom Catanoso finished with 11. Jerkins added 10 points and Marcus Harmon finished with nine points and nine boards.
 
The win for the Lions sets up another exciting match-up with the Gothic Knights (15-3, 9-2). NJCU clipped TCNJ, 54-52 back on December 10^th in the first meeting. The second round is set for this Saturday with a scheduled 1 p.m. tip-off.