UNION, N.J. (2/20/08) - On senior night at Kean University, guards Lamar Wright (Galloway, N.J.) and Will Floyd (Eustis, Fla.) combined for 30 points and eight assists in their final regular season home game of their careers, however the Cougars fells to Richard Stockton College, 70-65, in New Jersey Athletic Conference men's basketball action on Wednesday evening. Despite the loss, Kean (9-15, 4-8 NJAC) earned the third and final seed in the South Division by virtue of a loss by The College of New Jersey earlier in the evening, giving the Cougars their first NJAC playoff berth since 2000-01.

Junior forward Jerome Hubbard (Neptune, N.J.) scored a game-high 21 points and made five steals to lead the Ospreys (18-6, 10-3 NJAC), who had already clinched the top seed in the South Division.

In the opening half, Richard Stockton led by as many as 11 points (25-14) midway through the half on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Santini Lancioni (Runnemede, N.J.) with 10:38 to go in the half.

The Cougars trimmed the deficit to three points (31-28) on a free throw by freshman guard Keith Williams (Jersey City, N.J.) with 5:37 to go, before the Ospreys extended the lead back out to nine point on a three-pointer by Hubbard at the buzzer to take a 41-32 lead at halftime.

Hubbard paced Richard Stockton with 14 points in the first half, while Wright (pictured left) tallied 12 points and four rebounds for the Cougars.

Richard Stockton scored the first five points of the second half on a three pointer by senior guard Mario Lancioni (Runnemede, N.J.) and lay-up by junior Chad Davis (Millville, N.J.) to build a 14-point lead at 46-32 just 80 seconds into the half. After the teams traded baskets on each of their next two possessions, the Cougars reeled off 12 unanswered points to pull within 51-49 on a lay-up by junior guard Yasien Beatty (Jersey City, N.J.) with just under 11 minutes remaining.

The Ospreys responded with five quick points to push the lead back out to six points (55-49), but Kean again pulled back within a single point on two separate occasions in the final 10 minutes of action, but could never score the go-ahead basket.

In the final minute, Kean pulled within two points at 67-65 following a pair of free throws from Floyd, and had the ball with a chance to tie the game with a three-pointer, however the Osprey defense forced a Cougar turnover and Mario Lancioni knocked down a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Wright finished with a team-highs of 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while Floyd (pictured right) chipped in with 13 points, three assists and two steals in 21 minutes of action. Freshman forward Akinwande Oshodi (Florence, N.J.) added eight points and five steals for the Cougars.

For the Ospreys, Mario Lancioni had 16 points, including four three-pointers, and three steals, and freshman guard Kai Massaquoi (Lawnside, N.J.) added eight points and five rebound in the victory.

The Cougars travel to Rowan University for the regular season finale on Saturday, February 23. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.