EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team put together a remarkable second-half performance, surging past first-place Ramapo for a scintillating 82-74 NJAC victory on Saturday inside Packer Hall.
 
Jason Larranaga made five 3-pointers en route to a team-high 21 points, James Beckwith added 16 points and four triples of his own, and Matthew Solomon and Matthew Okorie each notched a double-double as the Lions overturned a seven-point deficit in the final seconds of the first half and pulled away from the Roadrunners for a critical result to wrap up the first half of conference play.
 
FOR THE RECORDS

• Both teams are now 12-4 overall and 6-3 in the NJAC, tied with Rowan and one game behind Stockton in first place

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Larranaga was blazing out of the gates, swishing 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions to  overturn an early Ramapo edge and send the first half into a back-and-forth affair with four lead changes and a pair of ties in the first seven minutes
• Back and forth they went, neither side leading by more than four until the Roadrunners took a 32-26 advantage following a 10-0 run
• Ramapo continued to keep the Lions at arm's length and took its largest lead of the day, 42-35, with just over a minute left in the first half. In desperate need of a bucket, David Alexandre drove the lane and kicked out to Beckwith for a critical 3-pointer to end the period
• The momentum carried over into the second half, which was tied four times – the last at 52-52 at the 11:21 mark
• That's when TCNJ took over, with Nick Koch setting up back-to-back treys from Larranaga and Beckwith to give the hosts the lead for good. Koch's short jumper and another Beckwith triple – sandwiched around a Ramapo field goal – extended the lead to nine (63-54) in a matter of less than two minutes
• Leading 68-62 across the 6-minute mark, Okorie's put-back and a paint bucket from Solomon gave the Lions double-digit separation with 5:19 remaining. Ramapo got as close as 72-65, but Larranaga scored six points during an 8-0 run that stretched the margin to 80-65 and put the game to bed

FOR THE FOES

• Peter Gorman was on a tear, scoring a game-high 32 points. He made his first seven field-goal attempts and scored 23 first-half points
• Jordan Myers netted 13 points and Shane Rooney had nine, but no other Roadrunner managed more than four

STANDOUT LIONS

• Larranaga was 5-of-7 from 3-point range and 6-for-8 overall, landing two points shy of his season high
• Beckwith came alive with three treys in the second half to support Larranaga
• Solomon (12 points, 11 rebounds) recorded his eighth double-double, while Okorie (10 points, 12 rebounds) produced his second
• After a first half marred by two quick fouls, Koch was a tremendous orchestrator in the second half. He dished out a career-high nine assists, seven coming after half
• With Koch in foul trouble, Alexandre stepped up with eight points and six assists

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Ramapo shot well over 50 percent for much of the day but was just 11-of-29 in the second half. The Roadrunners came in ranked 4^th in the NCAA in field-goal percentage at just over 50 percent
• TCNJ had a huge advantage from the 3-point line, making 14-of-30 to only four treys for Ramapo, which takes the 12^th-fewest 3-pointers per game in the nation
• The Lions also dominated inside, posting a 45-29 rebounding advantage – including 15 offensive boards – and 15 second-chance points to just one for Ramapo

NOTES

• TCNJ has won four in a row in the series
• The Lions improved to 8-1 at home
• Larranaga is one game shy of 100 for his career

UP NEXT

• The Lions head to Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday night