Box Score

Hackensack, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's basketball captured its first victory of the season as they defeated Centenary College 78-70 on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions (1-5) swiped the monkey off their back as they came out on top for the first time in six contests this season. Junior Skyelar Ettin (Princeton, NJ/Princeton) led TCNJ with 17 points, while classmate Jason Chalmers (Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills) posted a career-high 16 points and eight rebounds in the win. Sophomore Bobby Bracket (Lawrence, NJ/Lawrence) registered his fifth double-double of the season (12 points and 12 boards) and junior Jayson Johnson (Bordentown, NJ/Life Center Academy) added 15 points.

The Lions hit 13 free throws down the stretch to thwart any potential rally by the Cyclones (1-5). They shot the basketball well, hitting a season-best 52 percent of their field goal attempts from the floor. TCNJ also knocked down 5-of-9 three-pointers (55 percent), several coming in a timely fashion.

It was a slow start for both squads as just three field goals were converted in the opening five minutes. Ettin provided a major spark on offense for the Lions to take command of the contest. He drained a three-point shot at the 14:51 mark and followed with another to propel 13-6 lead with 12:47 remaining in the half.

He found nothing but net for his third shot from behind the arc in the opening half to give TCNJ a 37-29 advantage. A jumper by Fox at the buzzer sent the Lions to the locker room with a 39-29 lead. Ettin hit six of his first seven shots for 15 points in the first half.

The Cyclones stormed out to a 13-2 run to open the second half, punctuated by a Kyle Malavasi three-point field goal to take a 42-41 lead at the 13:51 mark. A three-poiner and jumper by Chalmers, however, allowed TCNJ to regain control as they led 53-48 with under nine minutes remaining.

Johnson got hot in the final five minutes of play. He converted a traditional three-point play with a layup and free throw to stretch the Lions' lead to 65-55. After Centenary cut their deficit to 65-60, Johnson dropped in another layup and hit a pair of foul shots with 2:16 left on the clock to push the advantage back to nine points.

Chalmers and Johnson drained five more free throws in the final minute and the defense held tight to solidify the first triumph of the 2013-14 season.

Djovan Beausejour led all scorers with 18 points, while Malavasi added 14. Fox finished with 10 points for the Lions.

TCNJ will look to make it two straight this coming Wednesday, December 4 when they host Kean University in Packer Hall at 8 p.m.