UNION, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team nearly climbed out of a 13-point hole in the final seven minutes before host Kean narrowly succeeded in staving off the Lions' improbable rally for an 80-76 victory in a potential NJAC playoff preview on Wednesday night.

The Lions never led and were down by as many as 17 points in the first half before getting within four (55-51) with just under 12 minutes to go. Kean pushed the margin back out to 69-56 with 6:59 remaining, but TCNJ never went away and whittled the deficit down to two in the closing seconds. The Cougars, however, hit two clutch free throws and held on for an important win in the league playoff chase.

Kean (16-5, 9-5) now has a stranglehold on the No. 4 spot in the NJAC standings. TCNJ (7-14, 6-8) is one game up on Ramapo for the fifth seed.

The Lions got off to a nightmare start, going scoreless for the first four minutes and change as Kean opened up a 10-0 lead. TCNJ got off the mat and got within 14-8 on a dunk by Matthew Okorie, but Kean quickly came back with an extended run to go ahead 30-13 with 6:28 remaining in the opening half.

The Cougars continued to play from well in front and held a 45-30 advantage a minute into the second half. That's when the Lions made their move, embarking on a 13-1 spree that featured three 3-pointers from Jason Larranaga, the last of the trio making it 46-43 and slicing a dozen points off the deficit in a span of only three minutes.

It was still only a four-point Kean lead (55-51) when Pat Higgins buried a 3-pointer, but Jailen Jamison knocked down a 3-pointer as part of a 13-4 spurt that put the Cougars in command again at 69-56 with only 6:59 to go. Somehow, the Lions almost came back.

Higgins hit a 3-pointer and then cashed in a layup off a steal to cap a 9-2 response that trimmed the Kean advantage to 71-65 with 4:13 left. After Danny Bodine pulled down a rebound and ran the floor for a rim-rocking dunk on a feed from Higgins, it was only a four-point game (73-69) at the 2:20 mark.

Jim Clemente split a pair at the line to close within 75-72 with 1:06 to go, and the Lions forced a miss on the initial Kean attempt, but Griffin Barker tipped in the misfire for a crucial bucket. Clemente scored inside on the ensuing trip and Larranaga drove for a floater in the paint to cut it to 78-76 with 8.3 ticks showing. Letrell West, however, made both free throws on the other end to extend back to a two-possession lead with the game's final points.

Jamison and Heem Burno scored 18 apiece to lead four in double figures for Kean.

Higgins hit four 3-pointers en route to a team-high 17 points and passed out six assists, and Larranaga finished with 13.

Anthony DiCaro registered 11 points, eight rebounds, and six assists along with three steals, while rookie Matthew Solomon coupled 11 points with seven boards on 4-for-5 shooting. Bodine was 4-for-6 from the floor for eight points and Trevor Covey hit a pair of triples.

The teams shot nearly identical percentages (51.0 for TCNJ and 50.9 for Kean), and TCNJ made 11 3-pointers to just four for the Cougars. Kean, meanwhile, held a 44-30 edge in the paint and made a handful more at the foul line (18-for-25 to 13-of-18 for the Lions).

TCNJ is back home to battle William Paterson on Saturday. Tip is set for 3 p.m.