Box Score
Manhattan, NY … The College of New Jersey men's basketball team opened its season at the New York University Tip-off Tournament and dropped an 84-66 decision to the host Violets at the Coles Sports Center.
 
Facing a team with a distinct size advantage, the Lions (0-1) managed to keep the game close in the first 20 minutes, but 52 percent shooting from NYU (1-0) proved too difficult to overcome as they captured their first win of the season.
 
Sophomore Alex Fox (Washington, NJ/Westwood) led TCNJ with 12 points in the game, which included three, three-point buckets. Junior Donovan Smalls (Union, NJ/Union) and freshman Emmanuel Matlock (Trenton, NJ/Solebury) each had 10 points, while freshman Kyle Cancillieri (Lincroft, NJ/Middletown South) grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
 
The Violets rolled out to a 10-2 run early in the first half, staking them to a 14-4 with 13:51 to play in the period. The Lions responded with a 13-3 spurt that knotted the game at 17 when sophomore Skyelar Ettin (Princeton, NJ/Princeton) hit a jumper at the 10:17 mark. Emmanuel Matlock and Fox hit keys shots during the run.
 
A pair of three-pointers by junior Carl Yaffe late in the period pushed NYU back ahead as they held a 40-33 lead at the intermission.
 
The Violets went on a 12-0 run to open the second half and never looked back. Yaffe had 22 points, draining a trio of three-pointers in just four attempts. A 6' 8” forward who buried 45 treys last season, Yaffe also grabbed a team-high 11 boards. Senior Andy Stein, a 6' 8” center, joined Yaffe in leading all scorers with 22 points on seven-of-eight shooting from the floor and collected nine rebounds.
 
Senior Kyle Rawson (Warren, NJ/Watchung Hills) hit the bottom of the net with all three of his shots from the field, finishing with eight points. Sophomore Jason Chalmers (Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills) and sophomore Matthew Rista (Point Pleasant, NJ/St. Anthony's) each chipped in with six points.
 
NYU, who does not have a player under 6' 1” listed on its roster, got to the free throw line 34 times in the contest. They were 25-of-34 from the charity stripe, while the Lions were just 10-of-17.
 
TCNJ will play for third place tomorrow at 1 p.m. Their opponent will be determined by the outcome of the Colby/Baruch College game.