EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team earned a tough 77-64 win over Kean in the quarterfinals of the NJAC Tournament on Sunday.

The top-seeded Lions advance to the NJAC Semifinals where they will face the No. 5 seed in Stockton. TCNJ will host the Ospreys on March 12. Today's victory also kept TCNJ undefeated, as the Lions are now a perfect 7-0 on the season.

After TCNJ took a 38-32 halftime lead, Kean cut the edge down to seven in the first four minutes of the second half. The Lions countered with a 19-9 run to grab a 64-47 lead. Travis Jocelyn struck from three-point range to jump start the run.

The Lions attacked the bucket and earned high-quality shots, with the next three baskets coming from lay-ups. TCNJ had a 42-10 edge in points in the paint on the afternoon.

Anthony DiCaro converted a fast-break jumper to put the Lions ahead, 58-44. He was also fouled and hit the free throw to give the Lions a 15-point advantage with 9:38 to play. A trifecta from Naysean Burch pushed the lead to 62-47 on the next TCNJ possession, and a bucket from Jason Larranaga capped off the run and gave TCNJ the 17-point lead.

The Cougars hung around and got to within 12 points with three minutes to play, but P.J. Ringel tallied five straight points to put the game out of reach, 74-59, with 1:41 remaining.

TCNJ's scoring was evenly-balanced with four Lions in double figures. Jocelyn led the way with 18 points. Larranaga tallied 17 points and nine rebounds, while DiCaro finished the day with 15 points and five boards. Ringel totaled 13 points, nine boards, and seven assists.

A long 14-day lay-off did not appear to leave any rust on TCNJ. The Lions began the game with a 14-5 run capped off by three-pointers from Larranaga and Danny Bodine. Bodine scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds.  

TCNJ held a large 42-25 advantage in the rebounding category.

Prior to the game, the Lions held Senior Day to honor Jocelyn, Ringel, Brandon Slaybaugh, and team manager Matt Arnold for their contributions to the program the last four years. The Class of 2021 has been a part of 59 victories over the last four seasons.