Box Score

Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's basketball team put forth a valiant effort against a talented Eastern University squad but fell 94-86 in Packer Hall on Thursday night.
 
The loss drops the Lions to 3-3 on the season while the Eagles recorded its sixth win of the year.
 
Freshman Kyle Canillieri (Lincroft, NJ/Middletown South) registered his second straight double-double, scoring a season-best 20 points and collecting 11 rebounds. Sophomore Matthew Rista (Point Pleasant, NJ/St. Anthony's) dropped in 16 points and freshman Emmanuel Matlock (Trenton, NJ/Solebury) added a season-high nine points and three assists in the game.
 
Senior Michael Donatoni (Malvern, PA/Great Valley) led all scorers with 24 points and six assist for the Eastern. Senior Alex Nelson (Port Republic, NJ/Oakcrest) tallied 20 points and seven rebounds, while senior Collin Whipple (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) contributed 16 points and four assists in the win.
 
TCNJ gave the Eagles all they could handle, but to say the visitors had a good shooting night would be an understatement. They shot 63 percent from the floor in the game, and a red-hot 74 percent in the second half, hitting 20-of-27 shot attempts.
 
The Eagles came out flying fast scoring the game's first seven points. The Lions battled back to tie it up at 15 on a three-point bucket by Fox. With 8:30 remaining in the period, TCNJ took its first lead when senior Al Matlock (Trenton, NJ/Solebury) buried a shot from long range to take a 21-20 advantage. The senior guard drilled another shot from deep territory six minutes later, giving his team its largest lead of the half 37-26 and forcing an Eastern to timeout.
 
The visitors responded with an 11-3 run to finish the half as junior Kyle Malloy (Royersford, PA/Boyertown) knocked down a baseline jump shot to cut the margin to 40-37 at the intermission.
 
TCNJ hit four-of-nine three-pointers in the half and forced nine turnovers, while the Eagles shot 53 percent from the floor.
 
The opening minutes of the second half began at an even pace, but Eastern exploded hitting 11-of-13 shots during a 24-5 run. They led 67-54 with under nine minutes to play before Rista buried a long trey to stop the bleeding.
 
Junior Donovan Smalls (Union, NJ/Union) then converted a conventional three-point play. Rista hit a pair of free throws and Cancillieri drove to the basket for a lay up to cut the deficit to 69-64 with 6:28 to play.
 
The Eagles offense, however, never seemed to miss a shot. They surged to another 16-5 run with a mix of long and mid-range jumpers.
 
Cancillieri sent the crowd into a frenzy with a put-back jam and then a thunderous dunk off a fast-break to reduce the margin to single digits. The Eagles, however, hit enough shots from the charity stripe to stave off a comeback and earn the road win.
 
Sophomore Skyelar Ettin (Princeton, NJ/Princeton) finished with nine points on four-of-five shooting, while Smalls and Al Matlock contributed eight points each.
 
TCNJ is back on the court on Saturday, December 10 when they visit Delaware Valley College for a game at 2p.m. They return to Packer Hall next Saturday, December 17 for a 1 p.m. game against Immaculata University. Eastern hosts Messiah College at 3 p.m. this Saturday.