Ewing, NJ… The College of New Jersey men's basketball team (17-6, 12-4 NJAC) topped William Paterson University (12-11, 7-9 NJAC) in a conference match-up on Wednesday night in Packer Hall by a final score of 74-70.

In the first half, the Lions were up 12-11 when Elias Bermudez (Westwood, NJ/Westwood) kept the ball alive with a great hustle play, as the shot clock was winding down and got it to Eric Murdock, Jr. (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater) just in front of the center court logo who hit the long ball to pull the Lions within four. On the next trip down  the floor, Bermudez found Liam Byrne (Middletown, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) from long range and Byrne hit to make it a five point Lion lead. Joe Montano (Eatontown, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) hit a three pointer right before the half expired to give the Lions a 33-29 lead which they would take into halftime.

 The second half was a back and forth battle, as neither team was able to build a lead more than eight points. The Lions were holding onto a one point lead with three minutes remaining, when Murdock Jr. hit from downtown to make it a 65-61 Lions advantage. The Pioneers answered with a bucket, and on the ensuing possession Murdock Jr. was fouled an hit one of two free throws to put the Lions up 66-63.He then grabbed the rebound after a Pioneer miss next time down, and Ryan Jensen (Brielle, NJ/Manasquan) hit two clutch free throws to give the Lions a 68-63 lead. With 18 seconds to play, Murdock Jr. was fouled and remained clutch as he knocked down both free throws, and Montano put it out of reach as he made it a four point lead with a free throw with seven seconds remaining. 

Murdock Jr was sensational on the offensive end, as he scored a game high 26 points on 9-16 shooting from the floor including 2-3 from three point territory, and 6-8 from the free throw line. With the 26 points, he moves into fifth place in program history in as he now has 1,487 on his career. Murdock Jr. also added seven rebounds and four steals. Randall Walko (Somerville, NJ/Somerville) was a force as he posted a double double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Bermudez scored eight points and grabbed seven boards.

The battle on the boards played a major difference in this game, as the Lions out rebounded the Pioneers 44-30, and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds which they turned into 17 second chance points. TCNJ also limited the Pioneer possessions, as they only grabbed one offensive rebound on the game and did not tally any second chance points. 

With the win the Lions improve to 17-6 and 12-4 in the NJAC, and they remain tied for second place in the conference standings. They will continue their push to the postseason with the final regular season home game on Saturday, February 10th against Montclair State University at 3pm. Prior to the game, the Lions will honor their senior class.