EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team made almost all of its free throws – and plenty of big plays in crunch time – to outlast visiting New Jersey City in a 71-62 decision inside Packer Hall on Saturday.

Anthony DiCaro put the Lions on his back, pouring in a season-high 27 points and playing all but about 90 seconds to will the Lions to their fifth straight victory. The senior star got plenty of help from Jim Clemente in the first half and from Pat Higgins in the second to help the hosts avenge a heartbreaking loss in North Jersey earlier in the season.

Clemente gave the Lions (7-11, 6-5) an immediate boost off the bench, popping off the pine to sandwich a pair of strong post buckets around a put-back in his first five minutes of action, during which his teammates combined to miss 11 of 12 shots.

After NJCU (8-10, 3-8) took a 15-13 lead, DiCaro gave it right back to the Lions on a meandering baseline drive that eventually resulted in a lefty lay-in plus the foul. The upper hand continued to pin-ball for most of the half until the Gothic Knights closed the half on a 6-2 run to take a slim 30-27 edge into the break.

DiCaro and Clemente accounted for the lion's share of TCNJ's first-half output, combining for all but five of the team's points. DiCaro put up a dozen points, including a beautiful pump-fake and lefty scoop shot high off the glass, while Clemente made all three of his field goals and was a perfect 4-of-4 at the line to come up with 10 of his own. The rest of the home side's lineup combined to go just 1-of-10 from the field before intermission.

Still trailing by three early in the second half, the Lions began to catch fire. Danny Bodine gave TCNJ the lead on a layup from a Higgins bounce pass, and DiCaro's strong contest on an NJCU jump shot led to a long rebound and a transition triple from long range for the senior, who made it 38-34 and forced a Gothic Knights timeout with 14:55 to play.

After an NJCU back-court violation, Higgins connected on a pair from the line, giving the Lions the largest lead of the game for either team at six (40-34).

NJCU scored the next five points to get back on the see-saw, until Matthew Solomon made two at the stripe on consecutive possessions to restore a multi-possession cushion at 46-41. First-year Nick Koch came up with a huge play shortly thereafter, stepping in front of a baseline pass on one end and zooming down the left side of the lane for a tough lay-up on the other to make it 50-43 with 9:43 to go.

The gritty Gothic Knights, however, countered TCNJ's 9-0 spurt with one of their own, nosing in front 52-50 before DiCaro stopped the bleeding with two more free throws. Two more foul shots from Solomon knotted it again at 54-54, and some tremendous interior defense by Bodine facilitated a fast-break chance that resulted in a corner 3-pointer by Higgins and a 57-54 lead.

The assist by DiCaro on the play was the 200^th of his career, making him the 13^th player in program history to reach that milestone.

NJCU answered right back with two quick buckets, going back ahead at 58-57 with 4:14 remaining. With the shot clock winding down, DiCaro took a handoff from Clemente and buried a 28-footer to swing the spread back in TCNJ's favor for good.

After a Gothic Knights free throw, DiCaro drove baseline for a lay-up, then was fouled on the perimeter and knocked down one more from the stripe to extend the Lions' lead to 63-59 at the 2:17 mark.

Bodine's fourth block of the day short-circuited the next NJCU possession and the Lions piled on on the other end, with Higgins in the right spot to corral an offensive rebound and go back up for a quick put-back and a 65-59 advantage.

DiCaro took a critical charge on the other end before Clemente extended the margin to 67-59 with two at the line. NJCU stopped the run with a 3-pointer, but Higgins calmly sank four free throws over the next two possessions to put the Gothic Knights away.

Kayton Darley scored 23 for the Gothic Knights, but none of his teammates managed to reach double figures as the Lions held the green and gold to just 4-of-15 from 3-point range.

DiCaro finished 8-of-15 overall and 8-of-9 at the line in another trademark performance, showcasing his inside-outside game and full bag of skills.

Clemente wound up with 12 points and Higgins scored 14 after a nearly silent first half. Solomon had eight points and five rebounds, and Bodine produced six rebounds and four blocks to go with his four points.

TCNJ was a nearly flawless 28-of-31 at the free-throw line, a crucial effort in a tight game. Solomon was a perfect 8-for-8, while Higgins was 6-for-6 and Clemente went 6-of-8.

The red-hot Lions take on another sizzling squad next Wednesday, when they head to South Jersey to take on a Rowan squad that is 11-0 in NJAC play.