MONTCLAIR, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team saw its run for an NJAC title come to an end in the waning seconds of its NJAC Tournament first round game at Montclair State on Saturday afternoon. The Lions entered as the No. 6 seed, and Montclair State was the No. 3 seed.
 
A tight game came down to the final minute. TCNJ trailed, 65-62, when Randall Walko took the ball to the rim. He scored and was fouled on the play. Walko converted the free throw, his 11^th make in 11 attempts, to tie the score at 65-65 with 1:01 left on the clock.
 
Walko, the leading scorer in the NJAC entering today's game, scored 31 points. It was Walko's fourth 30-plus scoring game of the season, and two of them came against Montclair State. He also had a career-high 34 against the Red Hawks this year.
 
That gave possession in the tie game back to Montclair State, and the Red Hawks managed to grab two offensive rebounds on that possession to drain the game clock down to a last-shot opportunity. Miles Mitchell-White, who fouled Walko on the previous possession to give him the three-point play to tie the score, drove to the right side and hit a baseline jumper with 1.2 seconds left to give Montclair State a 67-65 lead.
 
Walko took the inbounds pass and tried to let go a half-court shot as time expired. He also managed to draw contact, but a call wasn't made that would have sent Walko to the line for three improbable free throws.
 
TCNJ had to fight back in the second half just to create the late drama. The Red Hawks extended their lead to 50-40 with 14:48 remaining in regulation, but the Lions responded with seven straight points. After Montclair State stopped that run, Andrew Keenan hit a three pointer to make it 52-50. The Lions retook the lead on a Walko three pointer, 55-54, with seven minutes left.
 
After Montclair State jumped back ahead, Niall Carpenter's three made it 61-60 MSU with four minutes left. The scoring slowed at that point. TCNJ's next bucket came on a Carpenter fast-break layup with 1:40 left to cut the lead back to a point, 63-62. He finished with 11 points, joining Walko as the lone Lions in double figures. After a Montclair bucket, Walko took the ball to the rim for his clutch three-point play.
 
The teams came out firing to open the game. Both sides were shooting better than 50 percent from both the floor and behind the three-point line for several minutes in the first half.
 
The Lions scored 18 points in the first 5:21 of action to open up an 18-9 lead, its biggest lead of the game. Walko hit a pair of three pointers during that stretch, and Mike Walley pushed the lead to nine points with a three pointer from the left wing with 14:39 remaining in the first half. Walko scored 12 in the first half.
 
Montclair State found its footing after falling behind early, and the Red Hawks took a 26-25 lead on a Justin Porter layup with 7:39 to play in the half. Carpenter hit a three pointer to briefly give the Lions a 33-31 lead with 4:29 remaining, but Montclair State answered with a three of its own. MSU took a 40-35 lead into the intermission.
 
Montclair State will now face Rowan in the NJAC semifinals on Tuesday night.