Box Score

Ewing, NJ –The College of New Jersey men's basketball team hosted Muhlenberg College on Tuesday night in Packer Hall in a non-conference game. The Lions came away with a 71-63 win to improve to 3-2 overall, while Muhlenberg suffered their first setback of the season and drops to 2-1.

TCNJ's junior guard Jay Frank (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) and senior Eric Blackmon-Hayes (Plainfield, NJ/Westfield) led the way for the Lions as they netted 16 and 12 points, respectively. Frank hit 7-of-13 shots from the floor.

The Lions led 46-30 at the break after being tied at 17-17 with 11:20 left in the first stanza. The Lions went on a 13-2 run to take the big lead into the locker room. Junior guard Jay Frank (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) paced the Lions with 10 first-half points, while seniors Adam Gonzalez (Rochelle Park, NJ/Hackensack) and Eric Blackmon-Hayes (Plainfield, NJ/Westfield), and junior Steve Feinberg (Middletown, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) each had six points at the break.

Muhlenberg's junior center Peter Barnes (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial) paced the team with eight points, while junior Ryan Foster (Newtown, PA/Council Rock North) and freshman Spencer Liddic (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) each had seven points. Muhlenberg shot 50.0% from the floor in the first half (14-28), while the Lions were even more accurate with a 58.3% effort on 21-of-36 shooting.

The Lions would take a 52-35 with 16:00 minutes left, but Muhlenberg refused to go away and pulled within nine points, down 59-50 with 7:04 left to play. Muhlenberg got even closer, down 61-54 with 5 minutes left to play after senior guard Darrell Roth (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth) hit two free throws. He returned to the line at 4:26 and hit two more free throws and pulled the Mules within five, 61-56.

With 1:18 left, Blackmon-Hayes would go to the line and hit one his of two free throws and the Lions had a 66-61 lead. He returned to the line at 53.3 and made a pair of free throws giving the Lions a 68-61 lead. He returned to the line after being fouled on a defensive rebound and missed the first of his two shots at 31.5 seconds and gave his team an eight-point lead (69-61 lead). Sophomore guard Evan Tozer (Norwood, PA/Interboro) as fouled with 15.1 seconds left on a three-point attempt and hit two of his free throws after being called for a violation on his final attempt.

Frank went to the line at 13.8 seconds and hit a pair and helped the Lions to a 71-63 final on the night.

Barnes would finish with a game-high 21 points and led his team on the boards with nine rebounds, while Tozer chipped in 17 points off the bench. Barnes added four blocks on the night.

TCNJ would struggle in the second half after a hot first stanza as they managed to hit just 24.2% from the floor (8-33), including just a 1-11 effort from three-point range. Muhlenberg also struggled from the three-point line as they were 2-13 on the night.

TCNJ returns to action on December 3 hosting Arcadia University in Packer Hall, while Muhlenberg College hosts Haverford College on the same night in a 7:30 p.m. contest.