EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team is making the fast start a trademark of its 2018-19 season, and Saturday afternoon against Ramapo in NJAC action was no exception. In a battle of two of the five teams tied for second place in the league, the Lions raced out to a 19-point lead midway through the first half before holding on for an 85-83 win. Despite the tight last minutes and final score, the Lions never trailed in the game.
 
Ramapo came dangerously close to taking its first lead after the final buzzer. Kashaun Barnes back-rimmed a half-court desperation three pointer at the horn that would have capped a frantic comeback.
 
It was a surprise that Ramapo clawed back into the game given the way the Lions started. TCNJ came out smoking, and it took its largest lead of the game just 10:27 into play. The Lions took a double-digit lead in just over three minutes thanks to a 10-0 run to open the game. Ryan Jensen and Travis Jocelyn hit threes on that early run, and the Lions' defense held Ramapo without a field goal for the first 4:45 of play.
 
The Lions opened up its lead to the game-high 19 later in the half. Jordan Glover and Mike Walley each hit a pair of three pointers, and Niall Carpenter added another. Jocelyn hit two free throws to push the lead to 29-10 with 9:33 left in the half. That capped a 19-6 run for the Lions after their initial 10-point burst to start the game.
 
Ramapo got its deficit down to as few as seven in the first half before heading into the intermission trailing, 40-30.
 
The lead slowly dwindled throughout the second half, but TCNJ held firm to the lead. P.J. Ringel hit a pair of free throws after a Randall Walko offensive rebound to give TCNJ an 80-76 lead with 2:04 left, but Ramapo scored three points on its next two trips to cut it to 80-79 with 1:05 left.
 
The teams traded free throws until Glover made 1-of-2 to make it 83-81 TCNJ with 14 seconds left. Barnes was fouled on the next trip, and he made both to tie the score with seven seconds left.
 
Ringel drew a foul on a drive with 2.4 seconds to play, taking the ball straight to the rim and looking for contact. He made both at the stripe, prompting Ramapo to use a timeout.
 
Barnes took the inbounds pass near midcourt on the left side, and after a few dribbles, took his shot just before the final horn. The ball stayed on line, but it hit hard off the back iron and fell harmlessly to the floor, giving the Lions their fourth straight victory.
 
Walko and Jensen each finished with double-doubles for the Lions. Walko had team highs with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Jensen poured in 14 with 10 rebounds. Ringel scored 16 points, including a perfect 8-for-8 from the line.
 
Glover scored 15 off the bench to surpass 900 points for his career, and Jocelyn finished with 10. Carpenter had 10 rebounds. The Lions outrebounded Ramapo, 46-37, and pulled down 18 offensive rebounds. The Lions turned those opportunities into 12 second-chance points.

The Lions hit the road for an NJAC game at William Paterson on Wednesday at 8 p.m.