UNION, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team has made fast starts one of its hallmarks of the 2018-19 season, but the Lions saw Kean use that card in Saturday's 89-69 loss to the Cougars.
 
TCNJ hadn't trailed in a game since the second half of its win over Centre in late December, a span of more than 139 minutes of game action entering Saturday's contest. Kean ended that streak on its first possession, and the Cougars mounted a huge rally in the opening stages of play. Kean had a 15-0 lead through the first six minutes of action, finally ending on Travis Jocelyn's three pointer with 14:00 to play in the first half.
 
After not scoring for the first six minutes, the Lions followed Joceyln's three pointer with back-to-back makes from Ryan Jensen and Mike Walley, capping a 9-2 Lions' run that had the score at 17-9 with 12:52 left.
 
The run swung back to Kean, though, after's Walley's three. Kean went on another long run, this time scoring 16 unanswered points to take a 33-9 lead. Liam Byrne hit a three to stop that run with seven minutes remaining, a TCNJ scoreless streak of 5:52. Kean took a 56-21 lead into the half. TCNJ shot just 20.7 percent from the field in the first half, and just 4-for-16 from three-point range.
 
The Lions outplayed Kean in the second half, outscoring the Cougars, 48-33. The deficit was just too large. The Lions outscored Kean by 10 through the first 12 minutes of the second half, but the deficit was still 25 points, 70-45.
 
The Lions dug further into the lead, cutting it into the teens on Walley's three pointer with 6:19 to play to make it 71-52. Niall Carpenter made a three to cut it to 74-56 a little later, and Walley got it to 15 points with a three pointer at 78-63 with 3:45 left. Walley had 11 points off the bench.
 
Randall Walko again led the Lions' scoring attack, finishing with 17 points. He joined Walley as the lone Lions in double figures, though Jensen, P.J. RIngel and Jordan Glover all had nine points.
 
TCNJ returns home to face Stockton on Wednesday night at 8 p.m.