Box Score

Bridgewater, Va … The College of New Jersey men's basketball team staged a late-game rally, but fell short in a 78-68 defeat to Bridgewater College on Saturday afternoon in Bridgewater, Va.
 
The Lions (0-2) trailed by as many as 24 points in the second half, but battled to cut the lead to seven points with three minutes remaining. The Eagles (3-1) were able to withstand the pressure in the final minutes to secure their third consecutive victory.  
 
Junior Skyelar Ettin (Princeton, NJ/Princeton) scored a career-high 22 points for TCNJ and also pulled down five rebounds to along with three steals. Junior guard Matthew Rista (Point Pleasant, NJ/St. Anthony's) also had a strong offensive performance netting 17 points. Junior Joe Kane (Cinnaminson, NJ/Holy Cross) grabbed a game-high seven boards.
 
The Eagles (3-1) had only one player score in double figures, but 15 different players impacted the scoring column. Ed Reddick had 13 points, while Ronnie Thomas led the team with seven rebounds.
 
Bridgewater's Travis Stapleton hit a three-point shot a minute into the game, and the Eagles maintained the lead from that point forward. They hit nine of their first 14 shots to open the half and jumped out to a 23-10 lead. A modest 7-2 run by the Lions to close out the opening period cut the deficit to 43-25 at the intermission.
 
The Eagles sandwiched four free throws around a jump shot to increase their advantage to 49-25. TCNJ counter-punched, however, scoring 11 straight points to climb back into contest. Rista drilled a three-pointer, followed by a lay-up from Ettin. A steal by sophomore Jayson Johnson (Bordentown, NJ/Life Center Academy) set up an easy basket for Emmanuel Matlock (Trenton, NJ/Solebury) and Ettin then grabbed an offensive board and put it back to close the gap to 49-36.
 
The game seemed in hand when Reddick hit a free throw with 6:24 remaining to stretch the host lead to 65-50. The Lions would not go away easily, however, as they staged a late run to put the outcome in question. Sophomore Alex Fox (Washington, NJ/Westwood) dropped in a free throw, Ettin hit a lay-up, and Rista knocked down his second three-pointer of the half. Two more free throws by Ettin and TCNJ had cut the lead to single digits.
 
The Eagle defense rose to the occasion, holding TCNJ to just four shots in the final three minutes to close out the win.
 
Johnson finished with nine points and three steals, while Fox chipped in with seven points.
 
The Lions return to campus for their home opener on Monday, November 26 when they host Centenary College. That game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Packer Hall. The Cyclones dropped their first two games of the season and play Misericordia University in Hackettstown, NJ later today.
 
Note: Proceeds from the game was donated to the Bridgewater Inter-Church Food Pantry to help during the holiday season.