Men’s Basketball Defeats Stockton on Senior Day “We just wanted to leave everything on the floor”

By Dorian Alerte | Published February 17, 2023

It was all smiles on Senior Day for the Kean Men’s Basketball (18-7) team as they defeated the Stockton University Ospreys (21-4)  93-84 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Regular Season finale. The Cougars put on a performance that served as a tune-up for the playoffs. 

The Cougars are in the midst of their best season since the 2013-2014 season when they won 16 games. Harwood Arena was filled with family and friends there to support the seniors that were recognized for senior day. 

“There were a lot of mixed emotions,” senior forward Corey Thelisme said. “We obviously wanted to get the win, and we just wanted to leave everything on the floor.” 

For the first time in nearly 10 seasons, the Cougars will be hosting a home playoff game.

“That’s good,” forward JD Daniels said. “We got the home-court advantage so we have to take care of business.”

Senior forward, Letrell West, led the way in scoring for the Cougars with 28 points, including five threes. Daniels also contributed heavily with 20 points, with four threes coming off the bench. Heem Burno (10 points and nine assists), Thelisme (10 points and six rebounds), and DJ Alicea (seven points and eight rebounds) were also major players for the Cougars.

“We wanted to play hard, grab every rebound, try to make every shot,” Thelisme said. “I just wanted to give it all I had because this will never happen again. It’s bittersweet, but we got another one coming on Saturday.”

Scoring opened up for the Cougars after a steal and layup by Alicea. The first half was a back-and-forth affair until fifth-year senior point guard, Jailen Jamison (16 points), put the Cougars up one with a free throw with four minutes left in the first half. The first half ended with a buzzer-beater three-pointer from Daniels that sent the Cougars into halftime with an eight-point lead.

“I was locked in from the start,” Daniels said. “We had to get this last game before the playoffs so we had to finish strong.”

In the second half, the Ospreys fought back, bringing the Cougar’s lead to only one, but a quick rebound from Alicea and a three-pointer by point guard Heem Burno put the Cougars up by four. After that point, the Cougars did not look back as they controlled the lead the rest of the way.

When asked after the game what having a home playoff game meant to him and how he saw the program evolve during his time on the team, Jamison became overcome with emotion.

“Just trusting the process, and hard work,” Jamison said.

Jamison has been with the program for five years and has seen the program grow, now to the point where he has his final opportunity to play at home in his career. His teammates are looking forward to the playoff game and are looking to win, not just for the team, but for him.

“Juju has been our anchor,” Thelisme said. “He knows all of the ropes about Kean basketball and the culture that we created here. We’re gonna have Juju’s back on Saturday and try to get the win for him and us.”

The fourth-seeded Cougars will take on fifth-seeded The College of New Jersey Lions in the first round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference Playoffs on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 5 pm. The Cougars are looking for the crowd to be as electric as it was on this night.

“This was the most packed that I’ve ever seen Harwood,”  Jamison said. “Just good energy from the family, friends, everybody, it just felt good honestly.”

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