Box score

Ewing, NJ... The College of New Jersey men's basketball team stunned eighth-ranked DeSales University with a come-from-behind 76-71 win at the Albright College tournament.

Senior forward Aaron Syvertsen (Midland Park, NJ/Midland Park) exploded for a season-high 25 points on 10 of 16 shooting from the floor to lead the Lions to their third straight win to open the season. Syversten was four out of six from three-point land and lit the DeSales defense up for 15 second-half points.

The Lions (3-0) took command early and led 35-29 at the intermission. Up 30-29 with 1:22 in the half, TCNJ scored five straight points capped by a Jay Frank (Brick, NJ/Brick) three-pointer with two seconds remaining.

DeSales returned to the court focused to regain control of the game and overtook the lead just three minutes into the second period. Things looked bleak for the Lions as the Bulldogs stretched the lead to 10 points with 9:41 remaining in the game. But the offense caught fire and rattled off 10 unanswered points in a span of just over two minutes. Baskets by Steven Siracusa (New Providence, NJ/New Providence), Kyle Rawson (Warren, NJ/Watchung Hills), and a three-pointer by Syversten tied the game at 58 with 7:26 remaining.

Frank hit back-to-back jump shots to put TCNJ up 64-61, but DeSales battled back to even the score 68-68 with 1:33 remaining. Syversten drained a three-pointer that put the Lions up for good as they held on to hand the Bulldogs their first loss of the year.

Siracusa finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Frank had 14 clutch points and four assists. TCNJ shot 49 percent from the floor and 57 percent from three-point range.

DeSales (1-1) entered the season ranked #8 by The Sporting News and was also picked to win the Freedom Conference. The Bulldogs return four of their five starters from last year's team which advanced to the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament. The returning starters include guard Darnell Braswell (Allentown, PA/William Allen) who was selected to the pre-season All-American First Team by The Sporting News. Braswell led the Bulldogs offense with 22 points.

TCNJ returns to action tomorrow in the championship game when they take on the winner of the Albright/Berkeley game. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m.