Mahwah, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's basketball team stunned host Ramapo College in the opening round of the 2016 New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Tournament.
 
The fifth-seeded Lions (15-11) rode an extraordinary shooting night from the opening tip until the final buzzer, downing the fourth-seeded Roadrunners, 105-95. TCNJ never trailed in the game and shot 64 percent (34-of-53) from the floor to eliminate Ramapo (16-10).
 
The Lions advance to the championship semifinal round where they'll face New Jersey City University on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. TCNJ split the regular season series with the Gothic Knights, winning in Jersey City, 76-74 on January 9th before falling on February 6^th 81-56 in Packer Hall.
 
The Lions, who tallied a season-high 105 points in the contest, had five players in double figures. No two players were hotter than sophomore Elias Bermudez (Westwood, NJ/Westwood) and freshman Jordan Glover (Lawrence, NJ/Lawrence). Bermudez registered a career-high 25 points on 12-of-14 shooting. Glover took only eight shots in the game, all of which were released from behind the arc. He found the bottom of the net on seven of those eight attempts to finish with 21 points.
 
The Lions came out of the gate hot and Glover set the tone immediately. He buried back-to-back three-pointers as TCNJ hit seven of their first 10 shots from the floor. They led by nine points on multiple occasions and never trailed in the period. The Roadrunners gradually closed the gap and only trailed 42-40 at the intermission.
 
The two teams traded punches after the break, but the Lions three-point shooting was relentless. Every time Ramapo got within striking distance, TCNJ would land a right cross. A tip-in by Roadrunner Thomas Bonacum made it a 53-46 game, but Glover answered with a three-pointer. Three straight Ramapo baskets made it a four-point game, but junior Eric Klacik (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) connected from downtown. Chris Mosley then knocked down a three, but Glover retaliated with another haymaker to make it 62-55 with 15 minutes to play.
 
TCNJ built a 15-point lead with a 6-0 run and six minutes to play. Ramapo battled to pull within seven points with just over two minutes to play. But junior Nick Alaimo (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) silenced the crowd with two baskets in 20 seconds to stretch the lead back to double digits and secure the road upset.
 
Not to be lost was another sensational performance by sophomore Eric Murdock, Jr. (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater). He posted his first career triple double, finishing with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 14 assists. Alaimo tallied 13 points and Klacik added 12 points.
 
In the other opening round game of the tournament, Rutgers-Newark defeated William Paterson University and advances to play Stockton University at 7 p.m. in Galloway, NJ.
 
Note: A special congratulations to sophomore Eric Murdock, Jr. along with an apology from the office of sports information. In the Lions final home game against Ramapo College, Murdock, Jr. set the program the program record for assists in a season. The all-time mark was previously held by former Trenton State College player Pat Holden, who dished out 142 assists during the 1987-88 season. The record-breaking assist by Murdock, Jr. against the Roadrunners came with 11:26 remaining in the second half. He fired a pass to rookie Kevin Bloodgood, who drained a three-point field goal. The sophomore guard now owns the program record with 168 assists (and climbing). Congratulations to sophomore Eric Murdock, Jr.