Championship Central | Bracket

The TCNJ men's basketball team is set to hit the road to face a gauntlet of top teams when the NJAC Tournament gets underway on Saturday.

The Lions earned the No. 5 seed in the championship bracket and will open their postseason path at No. 4 Kean on Saturday, with tip slated for 5 p.m. A victory there would mean a trip to South Jersey to face top-seeded Rowan in Tuesday's semifinal round.

To get there, the Lions hope to fulfill the old cliché that it's difficult to beat a team three times. Kean pulled off the regular-season sweep, winning 78-62 in Ewing on December 7 and by a tight 80-76 count on February 1. In that game, TCNJ nearly climbed out of a 13-point hole in the final six minutes and change before the Cougars managed to stave off the visitors' torrid rally.

TCNJ has plenty of playoff experience at its disposal. The veteran-laden squad, which features seven seniors, was part of the 2020 NJAC championship, and head coach Matt Goldsmith has qualified for the playoffs every season of his eight-year tenure.

Senior guard Anthony DiCaro leads team in scoring (12.7 PPG) and ranks in the top-5 in the NJAC in both assists (97) and 3-pointers made (60). Running mate Pat Higgins is enjoying a strong debut season, averaging 11.4 points per game and shooting 47.4 percent from the field.

Fifth-year forward Danny Bodine (11.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG) is one block from tying Jimmy Glover's 1988 single-season record of 50 and is shooting 55.7 from the field this season, while senior Jim Clemente (7.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG, .548 FG) and freshman Matthew Solomon (6.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, .591 FG) form an efficient frontcourt platoon.

Senior Jason Larranaga (6.4 PPG) is one 3-pointer away from 100 for his career, while senior Trevor Covey and freshman Nick Koch bring some firepower off the bench.

Kean (18-7, 11-7) is a dangerous squad that went 11-3 at home this season and features the league's top scoring tandem in senior center Griffin Barker (18.6 PPG, 10.5 RPG) and senior forward Letrell West (18.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG). Fifth-year Jailen Jamison (11.3 PPG) and junior Heem Burno (8.1 PPG, 5.3 APG) – the NJAC leader in assists – form a talented backcourt, and the Cougars force more turnovers (19.0 per game) than any team in the conference. Burno (63) and Jamison (57) lead the league in steals.

The other NJAC first-round contest pits sixth-seeded NJCU against third-seeded Montclair State. Stockton awaits the winner of that game in the semifinals on Tuesday, with Rowan set to host the TCNJ/Kean winner. Rowan and Stockton were 5th and 6th, respectively, in the NCAA Division III men's basketball championship committee's initial top-16 rankings released Thursday.

Friday night's championship will be held at the site of the highest remaining seed.