Rowan men’s basketball’s season has officially concluded, as they fell short of a potential return to the NCAA Tournament, suffering a loss in the first round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) playoffs to the Stockton Ospreys by a final score of 83-78.

The Profs matched up with the Ospreys earlier in the week for their final game of the regular season, falling in overtime by a final score of 104-101 in what was a high-scoring affair, not realizing that they’d clash with the Ospreys again just a few days later in the same gymnasium, in a game where everything was on the line.

The Profs had a noticeable piece missing from their lineup in their last two games of the season, as senior captain and the team’s leading scorer Khalif Meares wasn’t able to suit up for personal reasons. Head coach Eric Brennan prepared accordingly for the Profs’ last regular season matchup so that he’d have an idea of how he wanted to adjust the team for the postseason.

“I think it was just us understanding the group that we’d have going forward, that Wednesday game was to see that,” Brennan said. “Trying to put these guys and the team in a position where we can beat Stockton, with the team we had remaining and seeing what would work.”

The Profs started strong in a back-and-forth affair in the first half. One of the noticeable improvements from previous games was their perimeter shooting, as they shot 6-11 from deep in the first half. Junior guard Brycen Williams led the Profs in scoring on the night, finishing with 20 points. Danny Fleming and Ife Okebiorun followed with 17 and 15 points respectively. 

Down 47-43 at halftime, the Profs continued to push the pace defensively, allowing them to take the lead early on in the second half. Both teams would trade scores in a game that would come down to the wire. 

Games that have gone down to the wire have not gone the Profs recently, however, as they had lost four straight games by a margin of seven or less. In the second half against Stockton, the Profs made untimely mistakes late in the game that had plagued them all season.

Going cold from the perimeter in addition to poor free-throw shooting doomed the Profs in a game where every point mattered, as Stockton pulled away at the end of the second half largely because of their ability to make big shots when the Profs couldn’t. 

“I think it was just a matter of us not hitting shots, and sometimes that just happens. We had a lot of clean open looks, the same looks we’d been getting in the first half,” Brennan said. 

Rowan continued to fight until the final buzzer, but a three-pointer from Eriq Campbell iced the game and put the Ospreys up six with less than three minutes remaining in the half, ending the Profs’ 2024-25 campaign.

Rowan finished the season with a 12-14 record after dropping their final five games. 

“It was a tough season,” Brennan said. “I probably need to schedule a little more strategically, we had the number one strength of schedule in the country, but I wanted to challenge these guys. All of us wanted to win more, obviously make the tournament and that didn’t happen.” 

Next season, some key contributors will be returning to the Profs such as Brycen Williams, Chris McCarron, and Taz Cantey. In addition, some younger up-and-coming players such as Ife Okebiorun will receive more opportunities to help the Profs return to the NCAA tournament. 

“We have a good core returning, looking forward to seeing what they do,” Brennan said. “Our freshmen group, I enjoyed those guys. They practiced hard as crap, and I think we have talent in that bunch as well.”

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