GLASSBORO, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team made an impressive early-season statement on Wednesday night, holding off a late Rowan rally to deal the reigning NJAC champions an 82-72 defeat.
 
Jason Larranaga went off for a career-high 23 points, including a stretch of 13 in a row late in the second half to push the Lions (6-2, 2-0) to their fourth straight win after the Profs had trimmed a 20-point deficit down to just three. Nick Koch added 21 points and Matthew Solomon posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds as TCNJ picked up a massive league win.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first half was a torrid back-and-forth affair as the lead switched hands eight times, the last on a bucket by Khalif Meares that gave the Profs (4-3, 0-2) a 24-23 lead at the 8:28 mark
• That's when the Lions took over, going in front for good on a three-point play by Koch that launched a 17-0 run over nearly seven minutes. Jack Vreeswyk hit two 3-pointers during the burst, including a deep one from the left wing in transition to make it 36-24. Eventually, another driving bucket from Koch gave the visitors a stunning 42-26 lead heading into intermission
• Larranaga's free throws made it 48-28 TCNJ with 17:05 remaining, but the high-octane Profs were far from done. Rowan utilized a 17-3 run to get within 56-53 on a put-back by Meares with a healthy 9:11 remaining
• Larranaga took over the game from there, nailing a deep left-wing trey to put the Lions back up by six, 59-53
• With the lead back down to four (61-57), Larranaga splashed two more 3-pointers in a span of 10 seconds, the second off a steal by James Beckwith, to make it a double-digit game once more at 67-57
• Larranaga's put-back and a bucket by David Alexandre stretched the Lions' lead out to 14 (71-57) with 5:11 to go, but the Profs had one more run left in them. Rowan sliced the margin to three (74-71) and had a chance to cut the lead to one, but Moddy Bickley's jumper rimmed out and Alexandre canned two free throws on the other end with 53 ticks left. Alexandre, Beckwith, and Larranaga combined to go 8-for-8 at the line in the final minute

FOR THE FOES

• Meares led all scorers with 25 points and swiped six steals but didn't get much help, with only one teammate (Mikey Robinson Jr.) hitting double figures
• Rowan shot just 35.1 percent overall (27-of-77) and was 8-of-30 (26.7 percent) from 3-point range, canceling out a big edge in turnover margin (18-7)

STANDOUT LIONS

• Larranaga finished 7-for-11 from the field and 4-of-6 from 3-point range
• Koch was highly efficient, going 9-for-14 from the field and matching Larranaga from downtown (4-for-6)
• Solomon (10P/10R) and Vreeswyk (10P/7R) combined for 20 points and 17 rebounds
• Alexandre had six points, six rebounds, and four assists
• TCNJ shot nearly 50 percent from the floor (29-for-60) and was 15-of-17 from the foul line
• The Lions outrebounded Rowan, 43-38, and held the Profs to their lowest scoring output of the season

NOTES

• Wednesday's win was the Lions' first in Glassboro in five years and snapped a six-game overall skid against the Profs
• TCNJ is off to its best start since winning its first seven games of the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign. The Lions haven't been 5-1 to start a full season since going 9-1 to open 2017-18
• Solomon's double-double was his second in a row and third of the season

UP NEXT

• The Lions head back home to take on New Jersey City on Saturday