NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The TCNJ men's basketball team traveled to No. 9 Christopher Newport on Monday afternoon, and the Lions fell to the Captains, 89-52. The MLK Day matinee was a late addition to the TCNJ schedule following several COVID cancellations earlier this season.
Though TCNJ trailed, 42-28, at the end of the first half, the Lions played evenly with the top-10 Captains through the first period. TCNJ held CNU to just 36.8 percent from the field and just 3-for-13 from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes, while TCNJ shot 32.3 percent from the floor with five three pointers.
TCNJ led, 7-6, five minutes into play, and the Lions managed to keep its deficit in single digits for the majority of the first half.
Anthony DiCaro and
Naysean Burch made hit three pointers on consecutive possessions, sandwiched around a CNU bucket. Those three pointers turned a 10-point deficit into a 24-18 CNU lead with 8:43 left in the half. DiCaro led TCNJ scorers with 13 points while making 3-of-5 from three-point range.
The Lions went more than four minutes without a field goal after Burch's triple, and the next bucket came on
Jacob Hopping's layup with 4:04 left to cut the CNU lead to 34-22. Hopping followed his 21-point performance on Saturday with 11 points and four rebounds on Monday.
Jason Larranaga hit a three pointer in the final minute as the Lions went into the break trailing, 42-28. He finished with eight points.
The Lions struggled from the field in the second half, shooting just 24.1 percent. That contrasted starkly with CNU's 51.3 percent in the second half, and the result was a lead that quickly hit 20-plus points.
Matthew Okorie and DiCaro each scored early on in the half to cut the CNU lead to 18 points, but CNU followed with a 19-4 run to seal the deal.
Burch scored six points while tying
Danny Bodine and
Jim Clemente with a team-high five rebounds.
Christopher Newport is a top-20 team in rebounding and rebounding margin, and the Captains lived up to that mark with a 58-35 margin on the boards.
TCNJ steps back into NJAC play at Rowan on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.
