Photo by Ron Waite
Posted: Nov 16, 2014
The eighth-ranked Albertus Magnus men's basketball team dropped an 84-75 decision to Richard Stockton College on Sunday in non-conference action.
The Falcons even their record to 1-1 on the year, while the loss is the first regular-season loss to a Division III opponent since falling to Saint Joseph's College Maine on Feb. 1, 2014.
Early in the contest the Falcons lead 5-4 but a 14-0 Stockton run gave the host team an 18-5 lead five minutes in.
Both Tavon Sledge (Spring Valley, N.Y.) and Victor Ljuljdjuraj (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) led the Falcons at the half with nine points, while they finished the game with 18 and 16 points, respectively.
Albertus battled back in the second half after being down 43-33 at the break. The Falcons cut the Stockton lead to two at 75-73 with less than three minutes on the clock and out scored the Ospreys 42-41 in the frame but Stockton held on to win.
In the second half, Kyle Wiggins (Milford, Conn.) hit a key three pointer with 3:19 on the clock to cut the Osprey lead to three before Stockton answered with a bucket of its own. Marcus Walker (Newark, N.J.) cut the lead to two at the 2:35 mark before the Ospreys finished the contest with a 9-2 run, including nine-straight unanswered points before a Sledge bucket as time expired.
Stockton out rebounded the Falcons 45-37 on the night and held a lead for all but 19 seconds of the contest.
Ljuljdjuraj shot 7-of-7 from the floor, while grabbing a team-best eight boards before fouling out. Sledge, who played the entire 40 minutes for Albertus, scored a team-high 18 points to go along with nine assists and three steals.
James Jennings (Stratford, Conn.) added 14 points as he shot 4-of-12 from behind the arc.
Ljuljdjuraj and Sledge were named to the All-Tournament Team for the Falcons.
Albertus will host Mitchell College on Thursday in its 2014-15 home opener. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
