CAMDEN, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team led for the final 26 minutes of action as it defeated Rutgers-Camden, 81-62, Wednesday night in an NJAC contest. The Lions led by as many as 22 points in the second half, and they assisted on 19 of their 29 field goals. TCNJ has now won three consecutive games in conference play.
 
Rutgers-Camden hung around in the first half and led by as many as six points after a Robbie Brosh jumper made it 29-23 with 8:21 left. At that point, the Lions took over. TCNJ went on a 9-0 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes to take a 32-29 lead. P.J. Ringel scored the first five points of the run with a three-point play and a layup, and Ryan Jensen hit a three pointer a couple possessions later to give TCNJ a 31-29 lead. The Lions wouldn't trail again. Randall Walko hit a free throw to cap the run. Ringel scored five points while dishing out seven assists and recording three steals. Jensen went 3-for-4 from three-point range to power his 11 points. He also led the Lions with nine rebounds.
 
TCNJ used a strong final four minutes of the first half to put some distance in the margin. TCNJ went on a 13-4 run in that time to take a 45-35 lead into halftime. Travis Jocelyn, Walko and Liam Byrne all hit three pointers in that stretch. For the game, TCNJ went 14-for-43 (32.6 percent) from three-point range, including making nine of those in the first half. The Lions shot 50 percent from the floor in the first. Walko led the Lions with 19 points, and he tied Niall Carpenter for second on the team with seven rebounds. Carpenter also had 10 points.
 
Evidence of the 10-point halftime lead could also be found in the rebounding category. TCNJ grabbed 20 boards in the first half to Rutgers-Camden's 11. TCNJ also had seven offensive rebounds in the first half, leading to a 10-0 advantage over Rutgers-Camden in second-chance points.
 
After allowing Rutgers-Camden to shoot 50 percent in the first half, the Lions' defense buckled down to hold it to just 36 percent from the floor in the second. Rutgers-Camden had the lead cut to eight with 13:32 left in regulation, but it could get no closer to put any real pressure on the TCNJ lead. The Lions got 17 of their 36 second-half points from the bench.
 
Jocelyn provided the biggest spark off the bench for the Lions, scoring 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting. He went 4-for-5 from three-point range while also grabbing six rebounds.
 
The Lions face a big test on Saturday when they host conference-leading Montclair State in Packer Hall at 3 p.m.