EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team emerged from an overtime thriller with Kean on Wednesday night, pulling out an 80-76 decision in a nip-and-tuck tilt that neither side was willing to concede without a fight.
Five players scored between 11 and 13 points for the Lions, who snapped a two-game slide and stayed afloat in the race for a top seed in the NJAC Tournament.
FOR THE RECORD
- TCNJ improved to 15-6 overall and 9-5 in the NJAC, while Kean fell to 10-11 and 7-7 in NJAC play
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first half was a see-saw affair dotted with seven ties, and neither side led by more than Kean's early six-point advantage at 11-5
- David Alexandre's NBA-range 3-pointer knotted the score at 15-15, and James Beckwith's own deep trey from the left wing made it a 24-24 stalemate at the 6:55 mark
- TCNJ trailed by five (29-24) before Beckwith buried another 3 from the same spot, and Matthew Okorie's put-back brought the two sides level once more at 29-29 with 4:44 left in the period
- The teams were still deadlocked at 34 as the closing seconds ticked off the clock, but Jack Vreeswyk managed to draw a foul on a 3-point attempt with 3.7 ticks showing and made two of three at the stripe to give TCNJ a slim 36-34 edge at the break
- Vreeswyk and the Lions threatened to pull away early in the second as the senior's 3-pointer expanded the margin to 47-40, but Kean responded with a 12-3 run to nose back in front, 52-50, with 10:32 left
- The Lions trailed 58-55 with 8:37 to go, but Nick Koch capped a 7-0 run with a three-point play. After a Kean 3-pointer, Matthew Solomon scored inside and Beckwith knocked down a right-wing triple to hand TCNJ a 67-61 lead with 4:37 remaining
- That was TCNJ's last point for almost four minutes, and Kean surged back ahead, 69-67, with eight straight points capped by a D.J. Alicea turnaround with 55 ticks showing
- Needing a basket, Koch drove the lane and drew a foul, calmly sinking both free throws to tie the game at 69 apiece. Both sides failed to score on their ensuing possessions, and the game went to an extra session
- TCNJ took control from the tip, getting a runner from Koch, free throws from Alexandre and Solomon, and a bucket by Alexandre to go up 75-69
- Kean clawed to within 77-76 on a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left, but Alexandre nailed both foul shots, and JD Daniels' clean look at a tying 3 was off the mark. Khalid Bakare made the second of two free throws with 3.7 ticks left to ice it
FOR THE FOES
- Alicea led all scorers with 27 points
- Daniels scored 15, and Mario Gunn had eight points and eight rebounds
STANDOUT LIONS
- Koch and Vreeswyk paced TCNJ with 13 points each, with Koch distributing five assists
- Beckwith and Alexandre tallied a dozen apiece, the latter also totaling five assists
- Solomon notched his 11th double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, and Okorie was just shy of one with eight points and a game-high 14 rebounds
- Jonathan Okocha scored a career-high eight points off the bench, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- TCNJ won the rebounding battle, 41-40, and had 13 offensive rebounds, including four in OT
- Both teams shot a hair over 42 percent from the field, but the Lions made 10 treys to seven for Kean
- The game featured 12 ties and 10 lead changes
NOTES
- The Lions narrowly avoided another heartbreaking loss to Kean, which scored the last eight points to take the first meeting, 68-66
- The teams have gone to overtime twice in the last three meetings, including last year's win for the Lions in the NJAC quarterfinals
- Solomon increased his season rebounding total to 209, becoming the 17th player in program history to eclipse 200 in a single campaign
UP NEXT
- The Lions head up to William Paterson on Saturday
