Box Score

Glassboro, NJ … In a game that featured 13 ties and 11 lead changes, The College of New Jersey men's basketball team battled its way to a 73-70 victory over Rowan University on Wednesday night in Glassboro, NJ.

It was the fourth win in five games for the Lions (5-7, 3-3 NJAC) and third consecutive New Jersey Athletic Conference triumph. The victory also marked the 200^th career coaching win for head coach Kelly Williams.

Trailing 68-67 with under two minutes to play, sophomore Bobby Brackett (Lawrence, NJ/Lawrence) threw down a thunderous dunk followed by a layup to put TCNJ ahead. A pair of free throws by junior Jason Johnson (Bordentown, NJ/Life Center Academy) iced the game as the Lions came out on the winning end of a tightly-contested NJAC showdown.

Brackett led all players with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Johnson produced a terrific all-around performance, scoring 17 points, grabbing seven boards, and dishing out a career-high eight assists. Freshman Eric Klacik (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) also excelled, posting a season-best 13 points and dishing out three assists.

Rowan dropped to 7-6 on the season and 2-4 in league play. Kris O'Connor tallied a team-high 19 points and five rebounds, while Jason Sofman finished with 18 points and six boards. Matt Whitworth contributed 11 points and four rebounds.

The Lions committed just two turnovers and registered 15 field goals in the first half. They jumped out to an 8-2 lead two minutes into the game, hitting their first three shots. Klacik had the hot hand early on, sandwiching a pair of three-point field goals around a Jason Chalmers (Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills) jumper. Klacik would finish with 10 points in the half on 4-of-6 shooting.

A bucket by junior Skyelar Ettin (Princeton, NJ/Princeton) midway through the period gave TCNJ its largest lead at 25-13. But the Profs surged to 17-2 run to push ahead 30-27 with 4:24 remaining in the period. The Lions fought back to regain the lead when Johnson found Brackett underneath for an easy layup as TCNJ headed to the locker room with a 38-36 advantage.

A 9-0 run by Rowan early in the second half put the host in the driver's seat at 49-45. That would be the largest lead of the period, one that would change hands eight times in the final 15 minutes of play.

Down 67-65, Johnson converted a layup with 2:06 remaining to tie the game at 67. Following a free throw by O'Connor, Brackett threw down a dunk before Sofman responded with layup to retake the lead with 1:08 left on the clock.

Brackett banked in a layup 20 seconds later and a Prof turnover led to a subsequent foul. Johnson knocked down both foul shots with 33 ticks remaining to give TCNJ the 73-70 victory.

Ettin finished with six points and Chalmers collected five boards.

Williams garnered 154 wins during a nine-season stint as head coach at Mercer County Community College. His 46 victories at TCNJ put him at the 200-win milestone. Williams, a Ewing High School graduate and member of their athletic hall of fame, also played for the Lions from 1989 – 1993.

TCNJ returns home this Saturday, January 11 to host Rutgers-Newark in an NJAC contest that is scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m. in Packer Hall.