Box Score

UNION, NJ – The Kean University men’s basketball team had a 78-77 upset over Rowan University in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) game on Wednesday night.

The Cougars led by 10 (68-58) with 4:48 remaining in the second period.  Guard Jason Rosenberg’s (jr. Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) layup (4:37) brought the Profs within eight (68-60).  Kean guard Michael Burton (jr. Irvington, NJ/South Plainfield) hit one of two free throws at 4:24.  With 4:16 on the clock, guard Kendall White (sr. Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley Reg.) nailed a three-pointer and Rowan trailed by six (69-63).  Forward Kyle Latorre (jr. Hasbrouck Heights, NJ/Hasbrouck Heights) answered with a basket at 4:02. 

Back-to-back layups by Rosenberg (2:50) and forward Brendan Cox (sr. Lindenwold, NJ/Highland Reg.) (2:01) made the score, 71-67.  Guard Anthony Gibson (sr. Tinton Falls, NJ/Monmouth Reg.) gave the Cougars a six point advantage (73-67) with a jumper at 1:20.  Center Dee Benson (sr. Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) converted a three point play with 1:07 left and Rowan was down by three (73-70).  Gibson sunk two foul shots (:36) and White connected on a three-pointer (:33) to make the score, 75-73.  Burton (:19) and White (:06) each had two free throws.  With four seconds remaining, Gibson hit one of two foul shots to extend the lead to three (78-75).  Profs’ guard Rich McNamara (jr. Southampton, NJ/Seneca) was fouled shooting a three-pointer as time expired.  He made the first two free throws but the third shot hit the front of the rim.

Kean improves to 1-5 overall and 1-3 in the conference.  Rowan has a 6-1 record with a 3-1 NJAC mark.  Burton finished the game with 18 points and six rebounds.  Latorre posted 17 points and 13 boards.  Guard Tommy Soulias (fr. Milltown, NJ/Spotswood) compiled 14 points.  Forward Frank Nock (fr. Bridgeton, NJ/Bridgeton) added 11 points and Gibson had 10.  Guard Mike Shaughnessy (sr. Linwood, NJ/Mainland Reg.) dished seven assists.

For the Profs, White scored a season-high 19 points.  Cox registered 14 points and eight rebounds.  Guard Fred Battee (sr. Westville, NJ/Deptford) chipped in with 13 points off the bench.  McNamara collected 10 points and Rosenberg had 11 assists.

At halftime, Rowan had a 39-37 lead.  Cox’s layup at 19:36 extended the advantage to four (41-37).   Kean went on a 16-2 run to go ahead by 10 (53-43) at 14:26.  Nock led the way with six points, Burton added four and Latorre and Soulias each had three.  Burton’s three-pointer (12:32) made the score, 58-47.  Rowan had the next six points to pull within five (58-53) at 10:20.  Battee had four of the six points.  At 6:02, the Profs were down by five (63-58) following a three by Battee.  Gibson had a layup (5:29) and Soulias nailed a three-pointer (4:48) for a 10 point lead (68-58).

In the first stanza, the game was tied (2-2) at 19:35.  Kean had a 7-0 surge to go up by seven (9-2) at 17:39.  Soulias and Nock both hit a three-pointer and Latorre added a free throw.  Cox made two foul shots (17:24) and a layup (17:02) to cut the deficit to three (9-6).  Latorre’s jumper at 14:47 gave Kean a 13-8 advantage.  The Profs had a 10-0 spurt to go ahead, 18-13 at 12:59.  White scored seven of the 10 points.

Rowan was on top, 21-15 after two free throws by Benson at 11:18.  Gibson hit a three-pointer (9:52), Shaughnessy had a foul shot (7:47) and Burton had a three (7:24) to put the Cougars ahead by one (22-21).  The game was tied at 32 on a free throw by McNamara at 2:11.  He made the second shot and the Profs were up by one (33-32).  Guard Matt Whitworth (jr. Ocean City, NJ/Ocean City) connected on a three-pointer (1:47) and forward Jason Sofman (jr. West Milford, NJ/West Milford) had a foul shot (1:08).  Latorre followed with a layup (:47) and Kean trailed by three (37-34).  White had a tip-in with 15 seconds left.  Burton nailed a three-pointer with one second remaining to bring the Cougars within two (39-37) at the intermission.  White scored nine points in the first half.  Cox, Burton and Soulias all had eight points.

The Profs host the Rohrer College of Business Classic on Friday-Saturday, December 7-8.  On Friday, Penn State Brandywine plays Rutgers-Camden at 6 p.m. followed by Berkeley College (NJ) against Rowan at 8 p.m.  Berkeley faces Rutgers-Camden at noon on Saturday and Penn State Brandywine takes on Rowan at 2 p.m.