Middletown, PA… Despite 22 points and 9 boards from senior Bobby Brackett (Lawrenceville, NJ / Lawrenceville) The College of New Jersey fell 74-68 in the finals of the Penn State Harrisburg Tip-off Tournament to the host team Sunday afternoon.

The Lions (2-1) had trouble out of the gate with Penn St. Harrisburg guard Khalil White. White scored the first 13 points against TCNJ, including an 11-2 run that to give Penn St. Harrisburg the early 13-4 lead.

TCNJ's early offensive struggles continued when junior Eric Murdock, Jr. (Bridgewater, NJ / Bridgewater) was forced to the bench with his second foul, less than five minutes into the game. Penn St. Harrisburg took advantage and built a 37-26 halftime advantage.

Trailing 47-35, a Liam Byrne (Middletown, NJ / Red Bank Catholic) 3-pointer sparked a 9-0 run to pull TCNJ back within three. Minutes later a pair of Brackett free throws brought the Lions to within one, but they were unable to close the gap completely. TCNJ endured a tough shooting night, connecting on just four of 23 attempts from behind the arc.

Leading 60-57, Penn St. Harrisburg used an 8-0 run (four points and an assist by White on the run) to close out the game. White scored a career-high 33 points in the victory. Gholahan Alliyu also had a tremendous game, collecting 17 rebounds and blocking three shots in the contest.

Senior Corey Stanford (Pittsburgh, PA / Penn Trafford) finished with 11 points and six rebounds, while Murdock, Jr. and Kevin Johnson (Belle Mead, NJ/Montgomery) added nine points each.

TCNJ shot uncharacteristically poor, going 4-23 (17.4%) from long range and 19-53 (35.8%) from the field, and were out-rebounded 38-33.

TCNJ now returns home Tuesday, November 22 at 8:00 pm to begin New Jersey Athletic Conference play when they play host to Rutgers University-Camden.