Box score

Hacketstown, NJ... The College of New Jersey men's basketball team dropped a 97-88 decision to Centenary College as the Lions fell victim to a balanced offensive attack.

The Cyclones (3-2) had six players in double figures handing the Lions (4-2) their second defeat of the season. TCNJ battled throughout the contest, but 11 three-pointers by the host squad turned out to be too much to overcome.

Down 51-43 at halftime, the Lions played catch-up the entire second half. Trailing by 11 points with 3:22 remaining in the game, sophomore guard Al Matlock (Trenton, NJ/Solebury) hit a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 89-80. Matlock then drained a three-pointer and converted another three-point play when he knocked down a free throw after drawing a foul on a field goal. That narrowed the gap to 90-86.

After Centenary missed their next shot, sophomore Dan Bucher (New Providence, NJ/New Providence) took a pass from senior Jay Frank (Brick, NJ/Brick) and dropped in a layup to make it a two-point game at 90-88 with 1:22 remaining. The Cyclones, however, got the job done from the free-throw line as they scored the final seven points of the game from the foul line.

Frank led all scorers in the game with 28 points and also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Matlock tallied up a career-high 16 points and senior Will Manhart (Hillsborough, NJ/Immaculata) added nine points, six rebounds, and five assists. The 10 rebounds by Frank also matched a career-high.

Rob Urie led Centenary with 18 points, while the Kearney brothers (Ryan and Corey) each contributed 17 points on a combined 11-for-18 shooting from the floor and 8-for-8 from the line. Ludner Innocent had 14 points, seven assists, and five rebounds for the game.

The men's basketball returns home to open New Jersey Athletic Conference play against Rowan University on Wednesday, December 2 at 8 pm. The game will follow the women's game against the Profs, which begins at 6 p.m. at Packer Hall.