Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's basketball team suffered a 77-69 setback to New Jersey City University in the New Jersey Athletic Conference semi-final match on Tuesday night in Packer Hall.
 
It was the first home loss of the season for the Lions (18-8) as they were eliminated from the NJAC championship tournament, while the Gothic Knights (21-6) advanced to the championship game at Ramapo College. The top-seeded Roadrunners (24-2) defeated Rowan University to move on to the title game.
 
The game was everything the large crowd at Packer Hall had hoped for with the exception of the outcome. It was an exciting, back-and-forth battle from start to finish. One of the most potent offenses in the conference (TCNJ) squared off against the ninth-ranked defense nationally. NJCU was able to wrestle away the victory as they applied relentless pressure throughout the 40 minutes, forcing 19 turnovers and scoring 22 points off giveaways.
 
Both teams came out with tenacity in the opening half. Junior Eric Murdock, Jr. (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater) made up for 10 fewer shot attempts for the Lions by connecting on 3-of-4, three-point attempts. NJCU struggled from long distance, dropping in just 1-of-8 attempts.
 
Murdock, Jr. dropped in his third three-pointer of the period with 5:09 remaining in the half to put the Lions up 22-18. A tip-in by Knight James Julius with 1:54 remaining made it a 25-24 contest, but senior Corey Stanford (Pittsburgh, PA/Penn Trafford) drained a 3 from the right corner to give the host a 28-24 lead at the break.
 
An 8-0 spurt in the first two minutes of the second half gave NJCU a 32-28 lead. The advantage grew to 38-32, but the Lions erased the deficit with a 13-2 run. Senior Eric Klacik (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) sparked the surge with a three-pointer. It was the 172^nd of his career, which pushed him past Hall of Famer Greg Grant for third all-time in program history.
 
Jordan Glover (Lawrenceville, NJ/Lawrence) tied the game with a shot from behind the arc, and with 13:39 remaining, Murdock, Jr. drilled another 3 to put TCNJ up 43-40.
 
A layup by Sam Toney cut the Knights deficit to 49-46. Stanford responded with a short jumper, but a three-point field goal by Jalen Harris and a pair of Harris free throws knotted the score at 51 with 8:47 to play. Harris then drove the baseline and found the bottom of the net to put NJCU up by a basket.
 
The Gothic Knights bottled down on defense and didn't allow a TCNJ field goal for over seven minutes. Stanford scored with 9:36 remaining in the half and the Lions were unable to produce a field goal until there was 2:27 left. Fortunately, TCNJ was a perfect 8-for-8 from the line during the stretch to stay in the hunt.
 
The put-back by Bermudez with 2:27 on the clock pulled TCNJ within two points. But Toney responded with a 3 and Ata Robinson drove the lane and banked in an off-balance lay-up to go ahead 68-61. A lay-up and a three-pointer by Murdock, Jr. kept the Lions hopes alive, but the Gothic Knights put the game away from the free throw line in the final minutes
 
Harris led all scorers with 23 points reaching 20-plus points for the 10^th time this season. Toney posted a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. NCJU will look to win its first NJAC title since 2011 when they defeated Montclair State University to qualify for the NCAA championship tournament.
 
Murdock. Jr. paced the TCNJ offense with 19 points, highlighted by 5-of-7 shooting from outside the arc. Stanford posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards and Bobby Brackett (Lawrenceville, NJ/Lawrence) finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Jordan Glover (Lawrenceville, NJ/Lawrence) added nine points and Klacik finished with seven points.
 
Brackett closed out an outstanding career at TCNJ. He finished third all-time in rebounds with 836, fourth all-time in blocks (79), and 19^th all-time in points scored with 1,063. All of Brackett's numbers were compiled in just three seasons.
 
Head Coach Matthew Goldsmith and his coaching staff did a tremendous job in his second season leading the Lions. He is now 34-20 overall in those two seasons, including a trip to the NJAC championship game and semi-final match.