CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The TCNJ men's basketball team had saw a slew of opportunities go begging in the closing seconds of regulation as the Lions conceded a hard-fought 66-64 nail-biter to Lynchburg in their first of two games at the inaugural Jay Bilas Skills Camp Classic on the campus of Queens University in Charlotte.
The Lions (2-7) led 62-55 with 1:44 to play before the Hornets used a 9-2 closing run to emerge victorious from a chaotic final stretch.
TCNJ fell behind by double digits (12-2) before the game was five minutes old and spent the majority of the first half in a sizeable hole. Everything changed with 2:31 left in the frame, when
Anthony DiCaro knocked down a 3-pointer to trim the Lynchburg lead to 37-27. That trey ignited an 18-0 extended run bridging the halftime intermission as the Lions asserted their dominance on the interior.
Jim Clemente scored six of his 12 points in the last two minutes and change of the first half, which TCNJ ended on a spree of 11 straight markers to go into the locker room down just 37-35. The Lions promptly ran off the first seven points after the break, taking the lead on a bucket by
Pat Higgins and pushing it to five (42-37) on a 3-pointer from
Jason Larranaga.
The Hornets (4-6) finally snapped a five-plus minute scoring drought with five straight to pull even, and neither side led by more than five until a dunk by
Danny Bodine and a layup from DiCaro – both on assists from Clemente – put TCNJ on top by a 60-52 margin with 2:36 to go.
The Lions still held a seven-point advantage (62-55) on Higgins' basket with 1:44 left, but were unable to close out a win. Lynchburg scored eight points in a 13-second span, going ahead 63-62 on Alex Fitch's trey with 1:20 remaining. DiCaro answered with a go-ahead floater, but the Hornets went ahead for good on the next possession.
The Lions had multiple chances to nose back in front, each time turned aside by the interior defense of the Hornets. Clemente saw his put-back attempt blocked by Trey Pittman, and Lynchburg looked poised to close it out at the free-throw line. The Hornets, however, missed back-to-back front ends of one-in-one situations, giving TCNJ a final chance. Higgins drove the left side of the lane, but Pittman was there again to block his shot and keep it inbounds for a tip to a teammate. The Lions were forced to foul with 0.9 seconds left, and even though the second of two free throws was no good, there was no time to secure the rebound and fire up a last-ditch heave as Lynchburg escaped.
DiCaro led the Lions with 13 points and added seven rebounds, while Higgins matched Clemente with a dozen markers. Bodine netted eight points to equal Larranaga, who pulled down a team-high nine boards to help TCNJ to a 40-32 edge on the glass.
The Lions dominated inside, outscoring Lynchburg by a 48-10 margin in the paint. Pittman finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets.
TCNJ wraps up the Bilas Classic on Wednesday night against No. 7 Christopher Newport.
