MAHWAH, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team went cold midway through the first half and could not climb out of the resulting hole, dropping an 88-76 decision at Ramapo on Saturday in the final NJAC game of 2024.
 
TCNJ (7-3, 2-3) was level at 15 just shy of the 12-minute mark after a basket by Nick Koch, but managed just four points over the next seven-plus minutes as the Roadrunners amassed a double-digit lead. Ramapo (7-3, 3-2) led by as many as 19 (41-22) in the last minute of the first half and the advantage never dipped below 12 from there despite a 52-point second stanza for the visitors.
 
Koch led the Lions in scoring once again with 21 points, with Matthew Solomon supplying a double-double at 16 points and 11 rebounds. David Alexandre (14 points) and Jack Vreeswyk (13) also hit double figures for the blue and gold.
 
TCNJ got a put-back from Matthew Okorie on the game's first possession and was up 5-3 in the early going, but Ramapo went ahead for good at 7-5 on a jumper by Peter Gorman with 16:38 left in the first half. That was part of a 9-0 run that put the home side in front, 12-5, but back-to-back triples from Koch and Solomon got the Lions within 12-11, and Koch's driving bucket capped a 10-3 spurt that evened the score at 15.
 
That's when the Roadrunners took control, getting a three-point play from Gorman to punctuate a quick 7-0 run. TCNJ made just two field goals over the final 12:18 of the half, after which they trailed 41-24.
 
Ramapo had an answer for every potential Lions run in the second half, going up by as much as 23 (66-43) and keeping the margin at 15 or more for the majority of the frame until Vreeswyk cut it to 14 (71-57) on a 3-pointer with 4:20 showing on the clock.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Ramapo shot 53.4 percent overall (31-for-58) and was slightly above 53 percent from the field in both halves
• The Roadrunners were an efficient 7-of-14 from 3-point range, including 6-of-8 after halftime
• Gorman paced four Ramapo players in double digits with a game-high 26 points, going 10-of-10 at the foul line
• TCNJ was just 8-for-29 in the first half (27.6 percent), and went 2-of-15 from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes
• Solomon had six offensive rebounds
• Alexandre finished 6-of-8 from the field
• Vreeswyk matched Koch with three 3-pointers

NOTES

• Koch has hit the 20-point mark in four straight games and five of his last six
• Solomon registered his 18^th career double-double and moved past Kevin Ryan '90 and Eric Murdock Jr. '18 and into 11^th on the program's all-time rebounding list with 515 career boards
• Alexandre has shot better than 50 percent from the field in four of his last six outings

UP NEXT

• The Lions wrap up their 2024 slate with a trip to Merchant Marine on Wednesday