CAMDEN, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team closed the first half on an extended run and never looked back in rolling past Rutgers-Camden, 64-45, in the NJAC opener on Tuesday night.

The league lid-lifter was all about quality over quantity for the Lions (2-2, 1-0), who used efficient shooting and suffocating defense to overcome a host of turnovers that allowed the Scarlet Raptors to take 22 more shots than the visitors.

The discrepancy hardly mattered for TCNJ, which shot 57.9 percent for the night (22-of-38) and made all 11 free-throw attempts while holding the hosts to a frigid 26.7-percent mark (16-for-60).

Anthony DiCaro finished with a game-high 12 points to go with four rebounds and five assists for the Lions. Danny Bodine had nine points, four rebounds, and five blocks, while Trevor Covey score eight points and Naysean Burch and Jason Larranaga chipped in seven apiece.

The first half ended with TCNJ on top by 15, but it took an unconventional path to arrive at that margin. The Lions racked up 14 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, but when they got a shot off, it almost always went in. Thanks to a nearly impeccable shooting display and tremendous defensive intensity, the visitors comfortably managed to overcome the slew of miscues.

TCNJ was a remarkable 9-of-12 from the field in the first 20 minutes and made all but one of its attempts from beyond the arc. Covey and DiCaro headed the long-range barrage, each making a pair of triples and scoring eight points; Covey sank both of his 3-point attempts and each of his free throws in the first half.

Camden, meanwhile, was ice cold from the perimeter in the first half – and hardly ever warmed up. The Scarlet Raptors struggled to a 6-of-30 effort overall and made just three of their 20 attempts from long range. By the time a Cameron Downs 3-pointer stopped a four-minute scoreless drought and a string of six consecutive misses to open the second half, the Lions had run out to a 38-17 lead.

TCNJ trailed 6-2 early, but consecutive triples by Pat Higgins and DiCaro turned the tide and put the blue and gold on top for good. Covey made a pair at the stripe and then tacked on his first trey of the evening before a pair of DiCaro free throws stretched the lead to 15-7.

Still in front 17-12 at the 8:25 mark of the first half, the Lions held Rutgers-Camden to a single free throw over the next seven-plus minutes of game time, scoring 13 points of their own over that stretch to seize a commanding 30-13 advantage. Covey and DiCaro each hit a 3 during the game-breaking stretch, and Larranaga capped it with a triple with just over a minute left until the half.

The Scarlet Raptors' cold stretch extended into the second half, and TCNJ capitalized in expanding the margin to 46-26 on the second of back-to-back lefty floaters by Burch at the 12-minute mark. Camden connected on a 3-pointer on the next two trips to chip away at the deficit.

DiCaro quickly staunched any comeback hopes, making the free throw after a flopping technical and burying a step-back 3 from the corner. Jim Clemente kicked out to Burch for another corner trey on the next trip, then found a cutting Bodine for a reverse layup, and in short order the lead was all the way up to 23 at 55-32. The Lions led by as many as 26 before Camden got it under 20 at the end.

Matthew Solomon paired six points with six rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench, powering the Lions to a 38-26 rebounding advantage. Higgins collected five rebounds to go with his five points.

Jackson Rind got a lay-up to spin around the rim several times and in in the final minute, his second basket of the season.

Bodine's five blocks moved him into a tie with Scott Findlay '06 for second on the program's all-time list with 126. Bodine is closing in on the all-time mark of 138 held by Jimmy Glover '90. The graduate student has been no slouch on the offensive end either, going 4-for-5 from the field on Tuesday night to put him at 68.6 percent for the season (24-of-35).

TCNJ has won 16 straight meetings with Rutgers-Camden. 

The Lions return from the Thanksgiving break to take on Rowan on November 30.