EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team fell victim to a late drought and Neumann took advantage to claim a 63-60 victory and the TCNJ Tipoff Tournament championship on Saturday.
The Lions (1-2) led the entire second half and held a 57-50 advantage just inside six minutes to play, but an extended cold stretch opened the door for the Knights to pull ahead and survive a last-second attempt at a game-tying three.
Danny Bodine had 12 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks and was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 15.0 points and 9.5 boards in two tournament contests.
Neumann (3-2) overturned the seven-point hole and nosed ahead on tournament MVP Jalen Vaughns' post basket with 1:30 to go. After two Knights free throws doubled the lead,
Jason Larranaga got the Lions within 61-60 on a clutch 3-pointer, but Vaughns made two clutch free throws on the other end and
Jim Clemente's last-ditch heave bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
Neumann rode the strong interior play of Vaughns to a 16-10 lead, but the Lions made their move around the midway point of the first half.
Trevor Covey provided a big spark off the bench, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers to tie the game, the second an NBA-range effort from the left wing off an offensive rebound.
After Neumann went back in front, 18-16, Larranaga scored on a drive and Bodine finished a baby hook with deep paint position to give the Lions the lead at the 9:11 mark of the half.
A beautiful back-door pass by
Matthew Solomon eventually led to a Larranaga triple from the top of the key to finish off a 13-2 spurt, and the lead grew to seven (26-19) as Solomon found Higgins for another triple. After a Knights bucket, Solomon nailed a baby hook to put a bow on a productive four minutes of first-half action that featured four rebounds and an assist. Bodine then put the hosts up nine (30-21) with a hoop inside on another brilliant feed from DiCaro.
Trailing by nine twice in the late stages of the first half, Neumann managed to get back within 34-29 at the break.
The teams traded baskets in a frenetic start to the second stanza, and then it was the Knights' turn to make a charge. Neumann embarked on an 11-2 run, going ahead twice and grabbing a 44-42 lead to force a TCNJ timeout at the 12:26 mark.
The stoppage seemed to turn the tide, preceding a run of eight straight for the Lions in the latest swing of the see-saw. Larranaga scored on a curl and a nice pass from Bodine to tie it, then Higgins and DiCaro drained back-to-back 3-pointers, DiCaro's coming off a dribble handoff to open up a 50-44 advantage with 9:10 to play.
Solomon made an immediate impact again, grabbing his own miss and kicking out to Higgins for a deep triple to make it 53-47. After a Neumann three-point play, Higgins found Bodine cutting on the baseline for a back-door reverse, and then Solomon sealed his defender for a lay-in on a big-to-big feed from Bodine to give TCNJ a 57-50 advantage with 5:43 on the second-half timer.
The Knights countered with nine straight of their own, pulling level at 57-57 on a back-door layup by T.J. Lewis with exactly 2:00 on the clock and going in front on a post score by Vaughns.
TCNJ turned it over on each of its next two possessions, sandwiched around a miss inside by the Knights, and Neumann got the ball back with a two-point edge and 26.3 ticks showing on the clock. After a Lions foul, Ryan Starr knocked down two at the line to hand the Knights a 61-57 edge with 22.1 seconds to go.
Larranaga came up huge on the other end, taking a feed off a baseline drive by DiCaro and swishing a left-corner 3-pointer to snap a five-plus minute drought and trim the Knights' advantage to 61-60 with 13.5 seconds left. Vaughns calmly sank both from the stripe with 7.6 ticks left before a scrambled possession ended in Clemente's long hoist.
Vaughns put up 27 points and 11 rebounds for the Knights, who attempted only five 3-pointers all night and didn't hit a single one. Neumann was 25-of-31 from the foul line, while TCNJ only took six at the stripe.
The Lions relied on their outside shooting but it never got rolling, finishing 8-of-31 from beyond the arc. Higgins was 3-for-7 on his way to 11 points, and Larranaga hit a pair as part of a 10-point night.
DiCaro collected nine points and four assists, matching Higgins for the team lead in the latter category. Covey (six points, four rebounds) and Solomon (four points, five minutes, two assists) gave TCNJ effective minutes off the bench.
TCNJ opens up NJAC play at Rutgers-Camden on Tuesday.
