Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's basketball team dropped an 81-56 decision to New Jersey City University on Saturday afternoon in Packer Hall.
 
The Lions (13-9, 8-7 NJAC) remain a game ahead of sixth-place Montclair State University and two-and-a-half games clear of William Paterson University. The Pioneers play at Rutgers-Newark tonight at 8 p.m.
 
Three-point shooting, a strength of the Lions all season, was a struggle in this contest. After drilling a season-high 16 threes on Wednesday night, they converted on just 4-of-24 from behind the arc. The Gothic Knights (14-7, 12-3 NJAC) shot 48 percent in the game and were 8-of-19 from downtown.
 
Sophomore Eric Murdock, Jr. (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater) led TCNJ with 15 points and four assists. Junior Eric Klacik (Basking Ridge, Ridge) finished with nine points, while sophomore Kevin Johnson (Bell Meade, NJ/Montgomery) added eight points off the bench.
 
NJCU's Jalen Harris led all scorers with 20 points. Chinwe Wosu was 6-of-9 from the floor to finish with 15 points, while Ata Robinson also reached double figures with nine points.
 
The game had a playoff feel to it early on. The Gothic Knights raced out to a 20-8, but Murdock, Jr. imposed his will at both ends of the floor to carve into the deficit. He converted a pair of steals into layups to energize his teammates after a slow start. TCNJ kept pace, but had trouble finishing, shooting just 33 percent (9-of-27) in the period.
 
Harris finished with 14 points (5-of-7) in the half to spearhead a 37-29 advantage at the break.
 
NJCU came out firing in the second half and the Lions continued to have trouble getting shots to drop. They played evenly in nearly every facet of the game, but the Gothic Knights simply found the bottom of the net with greater consistency.
 
The Lions return to Packer Hall on Wednesday night to take on Ramapo College at 8 p.m. in Packer Hall.