Box Score

Glassboro, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's basketball team dropped a critical New Jersey Athletic Conference game to Rowan University 69-64 in Glassboro, NJ.

The loss dims the Lions' (8-15, 2-9) hopes for post-season play as the Profs (10-12, 4-7) jump two games ahead, while Kean University also secured its fourth NJAC victory over Rutgers University-Camden on Saturday.
 
Senior Kyle Rawson (Warren, NJ/Watchung Hills) led TCNJ in scoring with 16 points in the game and five rebounds. Sophomore Alex Fox (Washington, NJ/Westwood) finished with 12 points in just eight minutes on the floor and sophomore Jason Chalmers (Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills) had 10 points and a team-high seven boards.
 
In the opening half, senior Albert Matlock (Trenton, NJ/Solebury) hit a pair of three-pointers and Chalmers contributed five points off the bench, but the Lions shot just 29 percent from the floor. Rowan led by as much as nine in the half and held a 32-27 advantage at the break. 
 
The Lions came out strong in the second half, and after a Chalmers put-back with 15:06 to play, owned a 38-37 advantage.
 
Play was even for the majority of the second half. Rawson scored five straight points for TCNJ to knot the game at 44 with ten minutes to play. The Lions trailed 52-48 with 7:30 remaining when freshman Emmanuel Matlock (Trenton, NJ/Solebury) drove to the hoop for a basket, but the Profs took command that point forward. They outscored the Lions 15-6 over the next minutes, taking advantage of turnovers and missed shots.
 
Fox connected on his third and fourth, three-point field goals of the game, but the gap was too wide to grind out a conference win on the road.
 
Rowan's Rich McNamara led the way with a double-double, scoring a game-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting and collecting 13 rebounds. Kendall White had a solid performance with 12 points, four rebounds, and three blocked shots.
 
The top three teams from the North and South Divisions qualify for the NJAC playoffs. With two games left for TCNJ, they must win both have a shot at the NJAC tournament.
 
The Lions can pick up a game when they host Kean on Wednesday night before traveling to Rutgers University-Camden for its final league game on Saturday. The other division game on Wednesday has Richard Stockton hosting the Scarlet Raptors.
 
On Saturday, February 11, Rowan visits the Ospreys. Richard Stockton then visits Kean on Wednesday, February 15, while Rutgers-Camden is at Rowan. TCNJ is idle as they will have completed its conference schedule.
 
The Lions split their season series with Rowan and lost their first meeting to the Cougars.
 
The game on Wednesday, Febuary 8 with Kean is scheduled for 8 p.m.