Box score

Montclair, NJ ... The College of New Jersey men's basketball team was unable to gain its first New Jersey Athletic Conference victory as they fell at Montclair State University 74-57.

Sophomore Donovan Smalls (Union, NJ/Union) scored 15 points, while senior Steve Siracusa (New Providence, NJ/New Providence) and sophomore Brian Kelly (Clark, NJ/Lawrenceville Prep) added eight points for the Lions (3-13, 0-6).

The Red Hawks (15-4, 5-2) won their third straight conference game largely in part to the tremendous effort from 6' 6” junior Andrew August (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater Raritan). August scored 28 points hitting 11-of-13 shots from the floor to lead Montclair State. The Red Hawks, who entered the game leading the NJAC in shooting percentage at a .596 clip, shot 65 percent en route to their 15th win of the season.

The Lions played with energy on defense in the opening half forcing 13 Montclair State turnovers. TCNJ capitalized with 14 points off turnovers in the first 20 minutes to keep the game tight at the midway point trailing 34-29.

With 1:18 remaining in the first half, Siracusa grabbed his second board of the game making him the seventh Lion in program history to collect 500 career rebounds. The 6' 3” senior achieved the milestone in just his third year of play with TCNJ. Siracusa currently ranks second in the conference in rebounds per game pulling down 9.0 per game.

Sophomore guard Brandon Johnson (Hamilton, NJ/Hamilton West) finished with five points and three points while junior Kyle Rawon (Warren, NJ/Watchung Hills) tallied seven points.

The Lions will visit Jadwin Gym tomorrow at 2 p.m. to take on Princeton University. The Tigers are the second Division I opponent for TCNJ this season, as they dropped a 99-68 decision at Elon University in the season opener in November.

Princeton (11-4) has played a “post-finals” game against a Division II or III opponent since 1986. The last time the Lions matched up against the Tigers was in 2001 when the Tigers topped TCNJ 69-59. The two schools also met in 1998 when Princeton downed TCNJ 59-50. Both contests were the narrowest margins of victory in the 23 “post-finals” wins for the Tigers.