MONTCLAIR, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team got off to a fast start in Saturday's NJAC tilt at Montclair State, but the home side gradually succeeded in pulling away from the Lions and pulled into first place in the conference with an 88-76 victory.
 
Anthony Milligan scored a career-high 16 points and Matthew Okorie logged a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn't enough for TCNJ to withstand a Red Hawk squad that made 11 3-pointers and shot nearly 50 percent from the field.
 
FOR THE RECORD

• Both teams are now 14-6 overall, but Montclair grabbed the upper hand in the NJAC regular-season race, moving to 9-4 in league play. MSU is tied with Rowan and Stockton in first, while TCNJ dropped a game back at 8-5 as Montclair sealed the season sweep

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Nick Koch scored the game's first seven points, getting to the rim twice before burying a 3-pointer before Mike Jackson ended a drought of more than three minutes with a deep ball
• It was back and forth for the rest of the half, and the Red Hawks were red-hot from long range. MSU connected on six 3-pointers in the first six minutes and change, taking an 18-14 lead on one by Kieran Flanagan
• The Lions went to work inside and on the break, getting field goals from Matthew Solomon, Milligan, Koch, and Okorie during an 8-2 run that put the blue and gold in front, 22-21. Later, David Alexandre scored back-to-back buckets to cap a 7-0 run and grab a 29-25 lead at the 7:18 mark
• The lead changed hands five more times before the end of the half, TCNJ going on top for the last time on a 3-pointer by Okorie and a floater by Milligan to make it 41-40 in the final minute of the period. MSU, however, answered with a 3-pointer to go on top and extended its run to 8-0 after the break, eventually seizing a 49-41 lead
• The Lions got within two (51-49) on consecutive baskets by Jack Vreeswyk and a transition lay-in from Koch, but Jackson hit a 3 on the other end. After TCNJ made it 56-53, the Red Hawks made two more treys during an 8-0 run to go up by a 64-53 margin
• TCNJ got as close as six (67-61) on a 3 by Milligan, only for MSU to score the next six to double the spread with 8:55 to go. The Lions trailed by double digits the rest of the way

FOR THE FOES

• Jackson led all scorers with 26 points and Flanagan was right behind with 21 on 7-of-9 shooting
• Francisco Paulino had 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists, and Kunga Tsering made all four of his shots for eight points off he bench

STANDOUT LIONS

• Milligan was 7-for-9 from the field and 2-of-3 from distance to hit double figures for the second time this season, outpacing his previous career high of 11 points
• Okorie added five assists to his double-double effort
• Koch scored 15 points and dished out three assists
• Vreeswyk finished with 10 points and six rebounds
• Solomon had eight points and eight rebounds, and Alexandre tallied eight points and six assists

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• TCNJ shot a healthy 47.1 percent overall (33-for-70) but was just 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) from outside the arc
• The Lions outscored MSU in the paint, 52-40, but the Red Hawks made 11-of-31 from 3-point range and held a 21-11 edge in points off turnovers
• The rebounding battle was dead even at 41

UP NEXT

• TCNJ is back home on Wednesday for a big matchup with Kean, which trails the Lions by just one game in the NJAC standings