Box Score
Ewing, NJ … In a game that may have gone the other way a season ago, The College of New Jersey men's basketball team pulled out a tightly contested battle as they defeated Rowan University 74-70 in New Jersey Athletic Conference play.
 
The victory put a stop to a 15-game conference losing streak for the Lions (2-2, 1-1 NJAC) as they gritted their way to an exciting triumph in front of a charged up crowd in Packer Hall.
 
Led by the clutch shooting by sophomore Matthew Rista (Point Pleasant, NJ/St. Anthony's) and the spirited play of freshman Emmanuel Matlock (Trenton, NJ/Solebury), TCNJ held off a talented Profs' squad in the final two minutes of play to earn their second win of the season.
 
Rista and senior Kyle Rawson (Wayne, NJ/Watchung Hills) led the Lions with 12 points each. Freshman Kyle Cancillieri (Lincroft, NJ/Middletown South) added 11 points and five rebounds and rookie Skyelar Ettin (Princeton, NJ/Princeton) had nine points.
 
Rowan received a monster effort from sophomore Dee Benson (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) who registered a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Junior Kendall White (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) led all scorers with 24 points.
 
The Lions led the majority of the second half, but the Profs battled back to tie the game at 65 with 1:59 remaining. Rista knocked down a pair of free throws and then drilled a short jumper to give TCNJ a four-point cushion with 1:05 left on the clock.
 
Matlock then came up with a key steal and Rista drained two more foul shots to stretch the advantage to six points.
 
White hit a long three-pointer with 22 seconds on the clock to pull within four, and then Benson hit a short in the lane to cut the lead to 72-70. But Matlock sank two free throws with 8.5 seconds left to ice the win.
 
The stat sheet did not tell the complete story in the opening half. Rowan out-rebounded TCNJ 26-9, but trailed by three points. The Lions did shoot the ball well, hitting 14-of-26 shots, which included 5-of-12 from behind the arc.
 
Benson registered a double-double in the first half. He tallied 11 points and grabbed 11 boards, seven of which came on the offensive end of the floor.
 
Senior Dan Bucher (New Providence, NJ/New Providence) finished with eight points and five rebounds. Sophomore Alex Fox (Washington, NJ/Westwood) added eight points and junior Donovan Smalls (Union, NJ/Union) had seven points. Junior Brandon Johnson (Hamilton, NJ/Hamilton West) led TCNJ with four assists
 
TCNJ returns to action on Monday, December 6 when they host Drew University at 7 p.m. in Packer Hall.