Kean Edges Stockton, 54-48

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Union, N.J. (1/16/13) – Junior Michael Burton's trey with 24 seconds on the clock gave the Kean University men's basketball team the lead for good on their way to topping Richard Stockton College, 54-48 Wednesday evening.

Trailing by one (48-47) with under a minute to go in the contest, Burton gave Kean (6-10, 5-5 NJAC) their final lead of the night.  Teammate Anthony Gibson then added four points from the charity stripe in the final seconds of action to secure the win. 

Burton led all players with 17 points and three steals while junior Kyle Latorre finished with his third double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds.  Junior Kevin Johnson tallied a team-high 10 points for Richard Stockton (11-4, 7-3 NJAC).

It was a see-saw affair from the start, as the contest featured two ties and 13 lead changes.  Down 8-7 early in the contest, the Ospreys rolled off 11 straight points to take what would be the game's largest lead at 18-8.  Sophomore Josh Blamon started the run with a three-pointer and capped it off with a bucket at the 10:17 mark.  Stockton would head into the break with a 28-23 advantage.  Blamon provided nine points off the bench while Burton and Latorre combined for 13 for the Cougars.

The second half saw nine lead changes, as neither team led by more than six.  The Ospreys used their longest run of the second half, a six point spurt, to take a 43-38 lead with six and a half minutes to go. Junior Rich Suhr and Johnson both provided treys for Stockton in the run.  The contest then turned into a see-saw battle.  With 54 seconds remaining, Richard Stockton took their final lead of the game on a layup from sophomore Jesse Hunt

The Cougars held a 35-24 advantage in rebounds as Kean shot 44% from the field compared to 34.6% for the Ospreys.

Kean returns to action on Saturday when they travel to the College of New Jersey.  The Ospreys stay on the road and travel to William Paterson.