Toms River, NJ - OCC Men's Basketball bounced back from a season-opening overtime loss last Saturday (11/11) with a hard-fought 73-70 road win versus the Passaic County CC Panthers on Tuesday (11/14). 

Similar to their 1st game, the Vikings were slow to start this matchup, with the Panthers jumping out to a 7-0 1st half lead, and leading by as much as 15 points in the frame before Ocean closed the gap to 9 at the whistle. The Vikings refocused and returned for the 2nd half aggressive on both ends of the court, outscoring Passaic 50-38 over the last 20 minutes to secure the victory. Ocean had a combined 18 steals in this game, and sophomore guard Brien Dunphy II was ferocious offensively, with an OCC career-high 26 points to lead the way.    

"After a very stagnant first half in which we trailed by double digits, our defensive pressure ignited a run to get us back into the game," recounted OCC Men's Basketball Head Coach Patrick Boylan. "Brien Dunphy came out firing on all cylinders after halftime, which really got the rest of our guys energized. Our trio of point guards in Dylan Hall, Brian White and Kai Messeroll did an outstanding job defensively, forcing live ball turnovers which enabled us to play in transition. Overall, it was a gritty road win and we were really proud of our guys toughness down the stretch."

The Vikings return to action on Saturday, November 18, when they welcome Northampton CC to Toms River for a 2 P.M. GSAC/EPAC matchup.