New York, NY …The College of New Jersey men's basketball team lost for the first time in over a month, dropping a 65-63 decision to Baruch College on Monday evening at Arc Arena in New York City.
 
Riding a four-game winning streak, the Lions nearly made it five straight but fell to 7-7 overall on the season. The Bearcats won their fourth consecutive decision and improved its record to 10-3.
 
Senior Jayson Johnson (Bordentown, NJ/Life Center Academy) finished with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Junior Bobby Brackett (Lawrenceville, NJ/Lawrence) continued his dominant season under the boards with a game-high 14 rebounds and 10 points for a double double. Sophomore Eric Klacik (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) and senior Skyelar Ettin (Princeton, NJ/Princeton) also reached double figures with 12 and 11 points respectively.
 
TCNJ capitalized on an 11-5 turnover advantage in the opening half to take a 32-22 lead. The period was highlighted by a 14-0 run at a point when the game was tied at 15. Klacik lit the fireworks when he drained a three-point field goal, copped a steal on the opposite end and then deposited another 3. The Lions' defense held Baruch scoreless for over five minutes and seized command of the contest.
 
Trailing 32-22 at the intermission, the Bearcats used their size to claw its way back into the match. Granville Gittens dumped in a layup with 8:16 remaining to tie the game at 46. TCNJ freshman Steven Kelly (Newton, NJ/Newton) muscled his way to an offensive rebound and put-back to regain the lead, but Gittens converted a conventional three-point play to give Baruch its first lead in over 28 minutes.
 
The two teams traded punches over the next five minutes of play. The Bearcats asserted their largest lead of the game at 57-52 when Bryler Paige dropped in a free throw with 3:44 on the clock. The Lions battled, but couldn't wrestle the lead back from the host. Brackett knocked down a pair of foul shots to close the gap to 60-58 with 1:10 remaining. Baruch,  however, responded by hitting 5-of-6 attempts from the charity stripe in the final minute to secure its four straight win.
 
Gittens finished with 21 points and seven rebounds for the Bearcats. Junior guard Edward Riscigno registered a double double with 11 points, 11 boards and also dished out five assists. Baruch compiled 12 offensive rebounds, which led to 14 second chance points.
 
Klacik reached double figures for the fifth straight game. Freshman Eric Murdock, Jr. (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) contributed eight points and three rebounds.

The Lions return to New Jersey Athletic Conference competition on Wednesday when they visit Kean University for a match-up scheduled for 8 p.m. The Cougars fell to Baruch College 89-69 in their season opener.