On February 27, Stockton’s men’s basketball team fought in Big Blue for the NJAC Championship title against William Paterson University. Being from North Jersey, seeing the good amount of fans from William Paterson made me appreciate their dedication in driving all that way to Galloway. However, the student side of the gym overflowed with Ospreys, as we were excited and ready for the “Black out” game. My friends and I even made sure to be of the first fifty to enter the game, and got free shirts and admission. Some were even prepared with streamers that were thrown across the stands each time a three-point shot was scored. Being that Stockton was the first seed in the tournament and William Paterson was second, we knew the game was going to be intense.
The score of the game was overall throughout, as each team gained the lead back and forth. We made sure to hold up our hands for luck as our team made foul shots, and, of course in a matter of good sportsmanship, were loud while William Paterson attempted shots. In the end of the game, the Ospreys pulled through by gaining a lead, and won 65-61, close enough to make it the intense game it was expected to be. At the final buzzer, almost every Osprey ran onto the court and celebrated together. While I only made it halfway onto the court because of the amount of fans, I thought it was awesome to see the spirit we all had as we came together.
Although I had a great time at the game and love playing basketball for fun myself, my only regret is that I did not go to more basketball games during the season. Now that I know how much fun it is to bring friends to these games, I will definitely be attending more sports events at Stockton in the future.