Box Score
 
Manhattan, NY … The College of New Jersey men's basketball team won its first game of the season defeating Colby College 59-45 in the second round of the New York University Tip-off Tournament.
 
The Lions (1-1) were the benefactor of a spectacular performance from freshman Kyle Cancillieri (Lincroft, NJ/Middletown South). In just his second game with TCNJ, Cancillieri had a game-high 16 points, pulled down 10 rebounds, blocked two shots, and led the defense with six steals. He also dished out three assists.
 
Sophomore Alex Fox (Washington, NJ/Westwood) tallied 14 points for the Lions and grabbed pair of steals. Junior Donovan Smalls (Union, NJ/Union) netted 11 points and senior Kyle Rawson (Watchung, NJ/Warren Hills) scored eight points, four rebounds, and led the team with four assists.
 
TCNJ played with energy, forcing missed shots and turnovers. The Lions finished the game with 14 steals and the Mules hit just 31 percent of their shots (4-for 25 from behind the arc). TCNJ also received a tremendous effort (and scoring) from its bench as they outscored the Colby bench 46-8 in the game.
 
The Lions got off to a slow start and trailed 8-0 just three minutes into the game. But after head coach Kelly Williams called a 30-second timeout, TCNJ caught fire. They put together a 22-4 run to take command of the contest. Cancillieri played inspired during the stretch, scoring points, grabbing rebounds, and blocking shots.
 
Rawson also hit a pair of three-pointers as the Lions tightened up their defense, permitting just six points over the final 17 minutes of the first half. After a sluggish start, they went to the locker room holding a 24-14 lead.
 
Colby sliced the lead to seven points on two occasions in the second half, but TCNJ responded each time to maintain a comfortable margin. Smalls netted all 11 of his points in 12 minutes of play in the second half.
 
Sophomore Skyelar Ettin (Princeton, NJ/Princeton) chipped in with six points and seven rebounds in the win.
 
TCNJ returns to the hardwood on Tuesday when they travel to William Paterson University in a New Jersey Athletic Conference match-up. The game is set for a 5:30 start.