Box Score

Galloway, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's basketball team dropped a 78-68 decision to Bridgewater College on Wednesday afternoon in Packer Hall.

The Lions led the majority of the opening half, but the Eagles dominated the final 25 minutes of play to capture their second victory of the season. The loss was the fifth straight for TCNJ.

Sophomore Bobby Brackett (Lawrence, NJ/Lawrence) posted his fourth double-double in five games for TCNJ, finishing with a team-high 13 points and 16 rebounds. Juniors Jayson Johnson (Bordentown, NJ/Life Center Academy) and Alex Fox (Washington, NJ/Westwood) tallied 11 points each, while juniors Jason Chalmers (Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills) and Skyelar Ettin (Princeton, NJ/Princeton) finished with 10 points.

The Lions played with a lead the majority of the opening half. Bridgewater struggled from long distance, missing all eight shot attempts from behind the arc. TCNJ built a seven-point lead with four minutes to play in the period, but the Eagles clawed their way back with a 10-0 run to take a 30-27 lead with less than a minute to play in the half. A free throw by Brackett cut the lead to two as Bridgewater went to the locker room with a 30-28 advantage.

The Eagles maintained their momentum in the opening 10 minutes of the second half. They stretched their lead to 54-39 at the 10:44 mark. The Lions were troubled by points off turnovers for the second straight day, surrendering 24 in the game.

A three-pointer by Chalmers from the right side followed by a running jumper by Johnson closed the gap to 56-49 with eight minutes to play. But Bridgewater rattled off the next 11 point to regain command of the contest.

Junior Ed Reddick (Virginia Beach, Va/Kellam) led all scorers with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Senior guard Tavis Stapleton (Carthage, TX/Carthage) had a tremendous all-around game scoring 12 points, grabbing seven boards, dishing five assists, and copping four steals.

TCNJ will look for its first win this Saturday when they travel to Centenary College for a 2 p.m. start.