EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team won a tight game with Rutgers-Newark on Saturday afternoon at Packer Hall, 66-60. Randall Walko led the scoring attack with 21 points, and Travis Jocelyn scored 13 points off the bench for the Lions. There were eight ties and 15 lead changes in the game.
 
The teams shot an identical 13-for-30 (43.3 percent) from the floor in the first half, and the Lions carried a 35-33 lead into the intermission. TCNJ (3-3, 2-1) took the lead into the half thanks to a 7-0 run in the final 1:30. P.J. Ringel hit a jumper in the paint to make it 33-30 Newark, and Walko hit a three to tie the score on the team's next possession. Ringel ended the half with a jumper as time expired to give the Lions the advantage. Jocelyn had eight of his points in the first half on 2-of-3 shooting with three free throws.
 
TCNJ extended that 7-0 half-ending run into the first few minutes of the second half. Walko hit a layup on the Lions' first possession of the half, and neither team scored again for more than two minutes. When the scoring resumed, it was again from the TCNJ side. Niall Carpenter, Ringel and Jordan Glover scored on three straight possessions to extend the run to 13-0 and their lead to 41-33 with 17:15 left.
 
That eight-point advantage served as the largest for either team in the game, and Rutgers-Newark fought back to erase that deficit. Dante Ralph's layup with 10:59 to play put Newark ahead, 51-49. From that point until the final minute, neither team led by more than two points. In that 10-minute span, the lead changed hands seven times and was tied four other times.
 
Walko hit a pair of free throws with 2:36 remaining to make it 61-60 TCNJ, and the scoring again went into a drought. Rutgers-Newark came up empty on four straight possessions, the last empty trip coming thanks to a steal by Ringel. He was fouled and made both free throws to expand the lead to 63-60 with 45 seconds left.
 
Rutgers-Newark (4-2, 1-2) got a decent look at a potential tying three pointer on its next possession, but Mark Thomas' shot was off the mark. Walko was fouled after pulling down the board, and his free throw pushed the lead to two possessions. Jocelyn finished off the scoring with two more foul shots in the final seconds.
 
Ringel filled the stat sheet with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Jocelyn's 13 points are a new career high and his second double-digit scoring performance of his career. Ryan Jensen grabbed a game-high 11 boards with a game-high four blocks.
 
The Lions will look for their third straight NJAC victory when they head to Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday at 8 p.m.