EWING, N.J. –  The TCNJ men's basketball team claimed the Greg Grant Tip-Off Tournament championship in dominating fashion, stifling Wells with a relentless defensive effort and rolling to a 100-50 victory in front of the Packer Hall faithful on Saturday.
 
Jack Vreeswyk turned in another huge performance with 17 points and was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, during which he scored 39 points on 13-of-21 shooting and 11-for-18 from 3-point range.
 
Matthew Solomon joined Vreeswyk on the All-Tournament Team for the Lions (4-1), who made 18 3-pointers in a blistering display that ended in a doubling of the Express. The 50-point margin of victory was TCNJ's largest since a 97-41 rout of Medgar Evers in the 2003 season opener, nearly 20 years to the day.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Lions imposed their will inside early, scoring a pair of second-chance baskets and grabbing three offensive rebounds on their first three possessions
• Just like the previous night, when TCNJ scored the game's first 14 points, the home side had a double-digit lead before the opponent even got on the board. This time, it was 12-0 Lions following triples by Jason Larranaga and Beckwith and a floater by Nick Koch. Wells needed almost five minutes to score and did not make a field goal until almost six minutes had elapsed.
• Beckwith caught fire later in the half, splashing three more 3-pointers, the last of which came on a brilliant look-ahead pass from Koch following a missed free throw. It gave TCNJ a 24-12 lead at the 7:36 mark
• The Lions continued to lock down defensively and expand their advantage, going up 30-17 on a left-wing deep ball by Koch and 35-19 on David Alexandre's NBA-range triple. Koch's twisting layup eventually made it 38-20 heading into intermission
• TCNJ put the game to bed early in the second half, scoring the first nine points out of the locker room. Larranaga hit a corner 3-pointer during the spurt, and Okorie extended it with a soaring lay-in after picking off an errant pass to make it 47-20 with 17:31 to play.
• That initial spurt was the kick-off to a mind-boggling stretch in which the Lions scored points on 22 of 26 possessions, eventually stretching their lead to as many as 57 (92-35) on a 3-pointer by Alexandre with 6:35 to play
• Vreeswyk went nuts in the second half, making four 3-pointers and banking in a floater in a span of just over four minutes

FOR THE FOES

• Terrance Clayton-Murphy led the Express with 12 points and was named to the All-Tournament Team

STANDOUT LIONS

• Beckwith buried four 3-pointers in the first half and five for the night, finishing with 17 points
• Thomas Menyhert gave the home side a huge spark off the bench. With star Solomon in early foul trouble, the junior piled up nine rebounds – two of them offensive – in nine minutes of first-half action. His previous career high for a game was two.
• Solomon finished just shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Okorie matched him with 10 points to go with six boards, and Alexandre also had 10 points alongside five assists and four rebounds
• Koch dished out a career-high seven assists along with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting
• Anthony Milligan collected nine points and four rebounds, while Larranaga finished with eight points
• Connor Howard, Jonathan Okocha, and Jordan Robinson all scored their first career points. Okocha's 3-pointer with 47 seconds left gave the Lions an even 100 points

NOTES

• Vreeswyk came into the weekend with 28 career points. He outpaced that mark by 11 in just two games.
• The Lions were exceptional on the defensive end. Wells shot a frigid 17.2 percent from the field in the first half (5-for-29), and Alexandre, Koch, and Khalid Bakare each had a blocked shot.
• TCNJ shot an even 50.0 percent for the night (36-of-72) and 51.4 percent from distance (18-for-35), including a 10-for-14 effort (71.4 percent) in the second half
• The Lions held down a 50-31 advantage on the boards and forced 19 turnovers, all while handing out 24 assists to just 11 of their own miscues. That led to a 28-4 edge in points off turnovers for the home side.

UP NEXT

• The Lions stay at home to open NJAC play against Rutgers-Camden next Tuesday. Tip is set for 7 p.m. from Packer Hall.