DANBURY, Conn. –  The TCNJ men's basketball team completed an unblemished stay at Western Connecticut State's Hat City Classic with a dominating 90-61 victory over Vassar on Friday.
 
James Beckwith and Matthew Solomon paced four players in double figures for the Lions (10-3), who led wire-to-wire and will take their best record into a new year since entering 2018 at 9-2 overall. TCNJ has already matched its win total from each of the past two seasons.
 
Nick Koch added 16 points and Matthew Okorie posted his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Koch and Beckwith knocked down 3-pointers on the first two possessions for the Lions, who led 8-0 early and expanded their lead to double digits on Solomon's lay-in with just over seven minutes gone in the first half
• Vassar got as close as five (25-20) on a 3-pointer with 6:51 remaining in the period, but TCNJ responded with a 9-0 run featuring five points from David Alexandre to move out to a 34-20 advantage
• Another 8-0 spurt, with a four-point play from Beckwith and a 3-pointer by Okorie, made it an 18-point game before Vassar ended the half with a triple to cut the margin to 42-27 at intermission
• The Brewers (3-6) got as close as 12 in the second half, but Koch answered with a three-point play and driving lay-up on back-to-back possessions to give TCNJ a 54-37 lead with 15:07 to play
• The margin stayed around there for much of the remainder of the game until the Lions extended the lead out beyond 20 (74-53) on Jason Larranaga's 3-pointer with 5:24 left. The spread eventually ballooned to the final margin of 29

FOR THE FOES

• Avery Lee (12) and JP Miranda (10) were the only players to reach double digits for Vassar
• The Brewers were held to 35.5 percent from the field (22-for-62) and 29.6 percent from 3-point range (8-of-27)
• Vassar was just 9-of-18 at the free-throw line

STANDOUT LIONS

• Beckwith matched his TCNJ career high on the strength of five 3-pointers, also adding seven rebounds and three steals
• Solomon capped a terrific tournament with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting in addition to eight rebounds. He finished the two-game stint at 12-of-15 from the field
• After scoring 19 in Thursday's win over host WestConn, Koch finished with 16 on Friday
• Okorie notched a new career-high with his 10 boards – plus three blocked shots – and was hyper efficient offensively, going 3-for-3 from the field and 3-of-4 at the line
• Alexandre turned in a terrific floor game with nine points, seven assists, and five rebounds

NOTES

• The meeting was the second in the history of the programs, with the Lions avenging an 81-77 loss to the Brewers a year ago
• Jordan Robinson hit his first career 3-pointer in the final minute, and Shaun Johnson made a free throw with 1:16 remaining for his first point of the season

UP NEXT

• The Lions open 2024 at home against William Paterson on Saturday, January 6