EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team tipped off the 2023-24 campaign in style on Wednesday night, pulling away around the midway point of the second half to secure a 76-66 victory over Goucher inside Packer Hall.
 
Matthew Solomon put his stamp all over the lid-lifter with a spectacular triple-double (16 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) to lead four players in double figures for the new-look Lions, who trailed 56-54 with just under 10 minutes to go before uncorking a 12-0 run over a span of almost five minutes to take control for good.
 
Fifth-year transfer James Beckwith scored 15 points in his TCNJ debut, including a dagger 3 with the shot clock winding down to make it a nine-point game with 1:19 to play, while Nick Koch and Matthew Okorie each paired 12 points with five rebounds to help hold off a stern challenge from a gritty Gophers squad.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Gophers came out hot, scoring the first five points of the game to open up their largest lead of the period
• TCNJ countered with consecutive baskets from Koch, setting off a see-saw first half that featured eight lead changes, the first of which came on a tying triple Beckwith and a tip-in by Solomon, one of two for the sophomore big in the first half
• The Lions trailed 15-14 before their biggest spurt of the frame, going in front on a beautiful backdoor from Solomon to Jack Vreeswyk and a hanging finish by Anthony Milligan. Okorie then connected on a 3-pointer to extend the margin to 21-15 just shy of the midway point of the half
• TCNJ continued to hold a slim lead for the next few minutes, but the Gophers swung back in front with a 7-0 burst to claim a 28-25 advantage at the 6:35 mark
• Goucher upped its margin to five twice more before intermission, the last on a circus left-handed layup by Jacob Morgan to make it 36-31 with 39 seconds to play, but Beckwith responded with a big trey from the top of the key on a handoff from Solomon to trim the deficit to just two at the break
• The Gophers led by as many as four (40-36) in the early stages of the second half, but Koch staged a rally with a steal and reverse layup, followed by a pass to a trailing Solomon for a foul-line jumper and a 44-43 lead with 15:49 remaining
• The Lions seemed ready to pull away a few times in the ensuing minutes, twice going up by five on a 3-pointer by Solomon (52-47) and a layup by Milligan on a dish from Solomon (54-49), but Goucher refused to go quietly and used a 7-0 run to take a 56-54 lead with 9:57 to go
• Solomon took the game into his own hands from there, notching his 10^th assist on another inch-perfect back-door pass to Jason Larranaga for a reverse plus the foul to go ahead for good at 57-56 at the 9:43 mark
• Two free throws by Koch and back-to-back assists from Solomon to David Alexandre and Beckwith stretched the lead to 63-56, and Solomon officially clinched his triple-double with a chase-down offensive rebound with 7:40 left
• The Lions capped their 12-0 run with a pull-up from Alexandre to make it 66-56 before Goucher finally ended its drought with a 3-pointer. The Gophers got as close as six on a put-back with 2:02 to go, but Beckwith's ice-cold step-back ended any hope of a late rally

FOR THE FOES

• Liech Kong led the Gophers with 14 points, while Can Dalli added 13 and Jacob Morgan had 11 to go with six assists
• Goucher shot 43.3 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from 3-point range (8-for-19)

STANDOUT LIONS

• Solomon channeled his best Nikola Jokic impression, dishing out six assists in the first half alone, including several pinpoint back-door passes to cutting teammates from his spot in the high post. He finished 7-of-16 from the floor and only turned it over once.
• Beckwith was 6-of-11 from the floor and 3-of-6 from distance
• Okorie shot an efficient 5-of-8 from the field, while Koch was 5-of-13 and added three steals to his line
• Alexandre had seven points, four rebounds, and four assists in his collegiate debut, while Milligan tallied seven on 3-of-4 shooting in his first action since 2021-22, when he saw just two total minutes of playing time
• The Lions made 9 of their first 13 from the field after halftime and shot 46.4 percent overall (32-of-69)
• TCNJ handed out 19 assists to 14 turnovers and outscored the Gophers, 48-32, in the paint

NOTES

• Solomon's triple-double is the first by a Lion since Anthony DiCaro did it against Rowan in November of 2021
• Koch and Okorie each made their first career start, and Beckwith was a starter in his TCNJ debut alongside Larranaga and Solomon
• Wednesday's win marked the Lions' fourth straight in a home opener. The home opener in the previous two seasons came at the TCNJ Tip-Off Tournament
• The first-ever meeting between the programs was a homecoming for Goucher assistant Trevor Covey '23, who played two seasons at TCNJ and is now a graduate assistant for the Gophers

UP NEXT

• The Lions stay home to take on Ursinus at 5 p.m. Saturday