Ewing, NJ… Rowan University collected a 68-59 win over The College of New Jersey in men’s basketball on Saturday afternoon in Packer Hall. Rowan is now 11-2 overall and 2-1 in the NJAC, while TCNJ drops to 8-8 overall and 2-3 in the league.

               Rowan led 40-30 at the break after the game was knotted at 12-12 at 12:00. The Profs would open their lead as they led 20-13 at 9:13, 29-17 at 5:35 and finally 40-30 at the half.

               Pacing Rowan on the day was senior guard Thomas Baker (Millville, NJ/Millville) with 12 of his 23 points in the first half, while sophomore forward Rahim Shiver (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) added all nine of his points in the first session. Rowan shot 59.3 from the floor in the first half (16-27), while making all three treys and holding the Lions to a 17.6% effort from downtown (3-17) and finished with a 50.9% effort from the floor (28-55) and missed all second half treys (0-7) and finished with a 30.0% effort from three-point range.

               TCNJ’s senior guard Brian Halligan (Delran, NJ/Delran) led the Lions with 17 points and added six rebounds, while junior forward Mark Aziz (Hackettstown, NJ/West Morris) and freshman guard William Jett (Browns Mills, NJ/Pemberton) each finished with a double-digit scoring performance. For Jett, who was making his first career start, he picked a career-high 14 points with eight rebounds, while Aziz finished with 10 points and led the Lions on the boards with nine rebounds.  TCNJ finished with a 42-37 edge on the boards in the contest and hit only 52.9% from the line (9-17).

TCNJ returns to action on January 15 when they host the Bridges of Brooklyn College at 2:00 p.m. in Packer Hall, while Rowan University hosts Kean University on January 17 at 8:00 p.m.