Galloway, NJ… The College of New Jersey men's basketball team secured their seventh straight victory, defeating Stockton University 84-69 Wednesday night. The Lions win, paired with a loss by Ramapo College, put the Lions in sole possession of first place in the New Jersey Athletic Conference at 16-3 overall, and 11-1 in league play. Stockton fell to 11-8 overall and 5-7 in the NJAC.
 
The Lions got off to a quick start as Jordan Glover (Trenton, NJ/Lawrence) scored five early points to help stake TCNJ a 14-8 lead. Glover finished with 11 points to go along with six rebounds.
 
After the Ospreys narrowed the gap to 16-12, the Lions responded with a 9-1 run, capped by a three pointer from reigning NJAC Player of the Week Randall Walko (Somerville, NJ/Somerville). Walko posted his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 boards.
 
TCNJ led 38-25 at the half.
 
The Ospreys came out firing early in the second half as Kashaun Barnes knocked down back-to-back jumpers to cut the lead to single digits. Barnes led all scorers with 27 in the game.
 
With the Lions holding a 52-42 lead, TCNJ scored 11 straight points. Niall Carpenter (Westampton, NJ/Westampton) closed the run with a triple, for three of his 11 points.
 
After a Barnes three closed the gap to 77-65, Eric Murdock, Jr. (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater) hit seven of eight free throws to secure the victory. Murdock, Jr. became the seventh player in program history to cross the 1,400 career point mark.
 
Murdock, Jr. was not the only person to reach a milestone, as head coach Matt Goldsmith claimed win number 50 since taking over at the beginning of the 2015-16 season.
 
TCNJ was efficient from the field shooting 46.6% (27-58), while holding the Ospreys to 34.3% (23-67) from the field.
 
The Lions will remain on the road as they make the return trip to New Jersey City University as they take on the Gothic Knights for the second time this week Saturday at 3:00 PM.