EWING, N.J. – Randall Walko poured in a career-high 34 points as the TCNJ men's basketball team handed Montclair State its first NJAC loss of the season in a 93-83 decision Saturday afternoon at Packer Hall. With the win, the Lions move into a share of first place in the NJAC with their 4-1 conference record.
 
Walko – and TCNJ (5-3, 4-1) – came blazing out of the gates. Walko scored 16 points in the first 6:45 of the first half. On that streak, he had 16 of the team's 24 points, and he made all six of his field goal attempts. Four of those six makes were from three-point range. Walko eventually did miss later in the half, but the Lions had already built a double-digit lead by that point.
 
Jordan Glover had a pair of three-point makes in the opening stretch, and Ryan Jensen added another. In the first half, TCNJ went 7-for-18 from three-point range, and the majority of those makes came in the early flurry. TCNJ led by as many as 17 in the first half.
 
Early in the second, the Lions expanded their lead to a game-high 20 points thanks to their longest run of the game, an 8-0 spurt. That run started with four points late in the first half. Jensen started it with a drive to the rim that ended with an emphatic dunk, and Travis Jocelyn scored right before the halftime buzzer to send the Lions into the break with a 49-33 lead.
 
P.J. Ringel gave Montclair fits all day with his play on both ends of the floor, and his steal and layup with 19:25 left extended the lead and the run. Jocelyn hit two free throws to push the lead to 53-33, marking the margin's high point.
 
Montclair State (8-2, 4-1) tried to make things interesting later in the half. The Red Hawks shot 50 percent from the floor in the second and made 12-of-14 free throws, and they had the Lions' lead down to 84-72 with 4:42 to play, but the Lions pushed back. Walko scored the next six points for TCNJ as the lead went back to 90-74 with 3:30 left. Montclair State never managed to bring its deficit into single digits. Walko finished a rebound shy of a double-double.
 
Jocelyn finished with 15 points and five rebounds. Jensen had 12 points and two blocks. Glover had 14 points and six rebounds. Ringel had seven points, five assists and four steals.
 
The Lions have now won four straight NJAC games after dropping the opener. They will look to continue that streak in their next game when they host New Jersey City next Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.