Campus Community Sends Off Men’s Basketball Team to NCAAs
Stockton University cheerleaders greet DJ Campbell and the rest of the men’s basketball team in the Campus Center on Thursday morning before the team heads off to first round of the NCAA basketball tournament in New York City.
Galloway, N.J. — Stockton University students, faculty and staff gathered Thursday morning in the Campus Center for a mini-pep rally to send off the men’s basketball team to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The Ospreys (17-10) will play Tufts University of Massachusetts (19-7) in a first-round game at 4:15 p.m. Friday at New York University in Manhattan. With a win, Stockton will face either NYU (20-5) or Husson University of Maine (23-5) in the second round at 6:45 p.m. Saturday, also at NYU.
Tickets for each game are $15 for adults and $10 for students, veterans and seniors. Click here for more information about the games. The game will also be livestreamed online.
Stockton men’s basketball coach Scott Bittner addressed the crowd and thanked them for their support this season.
“The thing I take the most pride in is seeing the community engagement. Anybody that was at the game on Saturday (the NJAC championship) realizes that importance of athletics and what it can do for a campus community,” he said.
Stockton men’s basketball coach Scott Bittner addresses the crowd in the Campus Center that gathered to send off the team to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Senior DJ Campbell said that this is his third year in a row he and the team have reached the tournament.
“Thank you all for coming out this morning. Hopefully we will go out this weekend and play the right way, play Stockton basketball and come out with a win,” he said to cheers from the crowd. “Let’s keep this thing going.”
Stockton earned an at-large bid to the tournament on Monday. It was the 19th NCAA Tournament berth for the team after finishing as the runner-up in both the New Jersey Athletic Conference regular season and the post-season tournament. The Ospreys have advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons.
Stockton is led by fifth-year senior Campbell (Vineland High School) who averages 20 points per game, 6.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. He recently broke the 2,000-point barrier for his career and became Stockton’s all-time points leader with 2,170.
Sophomore transfer EJ Matthews-Spratley (Cherry Hill East) averages 17.4 points, while fellow sophomore Tayvon Gaither (Lenape) has scored 15.3 points per game and grabbed 6.8 rebounds.
Tufts is in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last four seasons. The Jumbos are a member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference.
Bittner will appear on the online show “Hoopsville” presented by d3hoops.com at 7:15 p.m. Thursday night to talk about the Ospreys. The show can be watched at d3hoops.com, Facebook Live and YouTube.
