Men's Basketball Wins 6th Straight, Tops Passaic, 96-89

Toms River, NJ - OCC Men's Basketball continued their hot streak on Tuesday (12/16), winning their 6th straight game before their home crowd in a 96-89 defeat of the visiting Passaic CCC Panthers. 

The Vikings struggled to establish themselves early, perhaps owing to the comedown of recently defeating then-national #4 UCNJ on December 11. This was a battle for every point, with Ocean intermittently maintaining a single-point lead through much of the first 20 minutes. Ocean sophomore Jamari Smith (Barnegat, NJ/Barnegat H.S.) came alive in the 2nd half, with the team captain scoring 22 of his 26 points in the 2nd frame, while Aiden Sosinov (Manalapan, NJ/Manalapan H.S.) contributed 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists in the win. The Vikings have been increasingly strong of late in strategizing and executing in the final minutes of regulation. Ocean scored a staggering 11 points in the final minute of this contest, building out a lead that proved insurmountable to the Panthers.

OCC Men's Basketball elevates to 8-3 overall, and next takes the court this Thursday, December 18, when they host the nationally-ranked #1 Salem CC Mighty Oaks (14-0) at 5pm.