EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team was within striking distance of handing visiting Kean its first loss of the season on Wednesday night, but the Cougars used a big run to pull away for a 78-62 NJAC victory.

Danny Bodine had 21 points and nine rebounds and Anthony DiCaro (18) and Pat Higgins (14) joined him in double figures for the Lions, who led 55-52 with just over six minutes remaining before a quick 9-0 spurt separated the Cougars.

Dotted with a dozen lead changes, the contest was a contrast in styles – and the statistical disparities were stark. TCNJ (2-5, 1-3) dominated the glass to the tune of a 43-29 advantage, but surrendered 28 turnovers to the Cougars, who racked up 18 steals and only gave the ball away eight times themselves.

Heem Burno was dominant for unbeaten Kean (9-0, 4-0), which is receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com national poll. The point guard poured in a career-high 32 points and added seven assists to go with an eye-popping 11 steals to help the visitors to 26 points off turnovers and 20 on the fast break.

TCNJ was cooking early, riding the inside-out play of Bodine and the long-range marksmanship of DiCaro to a 23-12 lead just beyond the midpoint of the first half. That double-digit lead was on the back of a 12-0 run, which included back-to-back 3-pointers from well past NBA range from DiCaro and another from Bodine on a feed from DiCaro to open up the Lions' largest lead of the half.

Kean returned the favor with a 10-0 run of its own to get within one, and the Lions eventually took a 35-31 lead into the break.

Burno's deep 3-pointer put Kean ahead, 46-45, and the lead changed hands several times until Higgins converted a three-point play on a hard-nosed drive down the lane to make it 55-52 with 7:15 to go.

TCNJ went cold, failing to score for the next nearly four minutes as the Cougars snatched a six-point lead (61-55) on another triple by Burno. Olare Oladipo nailed a clutch right-corner 3-pointer to trim the Kean margin to 63-60 with 3:27 to go, but that was as close as the Lions got down the stretch. The Cougars snagged an offensive rebound on the next trip, which led to a pair of free throws and ignited an 8-0 run that culminated in yet another Burno triple and put the visitors up, 71-60, with just 2:05 remaining.

Bodine was a perfect 7-of-7 in the first half, when he scored 17 of his team-high 21. DiCaro finished 6-of-10 from the floor and 4-for-8 from 3, giving him four straight games with at least four treys. Higgins had four rebounds and four assists to go with his 14 points.

Matthew Solomon consolidated his NJAC Rookie of the Week nod with four points, seven rebounds, and four assists in another spark-plug effort, while Naysean Burch collected six boards.

The Lions take on another unbeaten squad on Saturday, when they head to Montclair State for a 1 p.m. tip.