EWING, N.J. – The No. 15 TCNJ men's basketball team's unbeaten start to the season came to an end on Tuesday night at the hands of Stockton, which rode a 45-point explosion from Martin Anguelov to a 105-99 victory in an NJAC instant classic inside Packer Hall.
The Lions (6-1, 1-1) overturned a 12-point first-half deficit to take a one-point lead into halftime and gradually pulled away to a 12-point advantage (89-77) with just over seven minutes to go. Anguelov, however, scored 15 points from that point on, including the first eight points of a 10-0 run that put the Ospreys (5-1, 2-0) up for good in the final minute of a thrilling rematch of last year's NJAC championship game won by the blue and gold.
Nick Koch went wild for 21 of his team-high 28 points in the first half, nearly singlehandedly pulling the Lions out of a double-digit deficit and into a shock lead at the break.
Matthew Okorie shook off a slow start to post a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double, while
Jonathan Okocha added 15 points and
David Alexandre was all over the box score with 12 points, six rebounds, and a game-high seven assists.
Stockton led by as many as a dozen (32-20) during a frenetic first half played at a breakneck pace. The visitors were still holding an eight-point edge, 50-42, when Koch took over, netting nine straight TCNJ points over the final 1:44 of the frame and giving the hosts a 53-52 advantage on a driving lay-up in the final seconds.
The lead changed hands several times in the early portion of the second half, but the Lions appeared to take control with a 10-2 run to go up 70-65 with 13:51 to go. Koch's circus lay-in gave TCNJ a 64-63 lead, and the junior scored another after an
Anthony Milligan back-door bucket to go up by five.
Milligan's 3-pointer capped a 7-0 spurt and gave the Lions a 77-67 lead with 12 minutes remaining, and it was 89-77 at the 7:20 mark after Alexandre splashed a deep triple and a pair of free throws.
It was all Anguelov from there. Trailing 97-91 after a put-back by Okorie, the Osprey sharp-shooter nailed 3-pointers on back-to-back trips to level the game at 97 with 1:15 to go. After Koch misfired on the other end, Anguelov was fouled on a drive and hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to give Stockton the lead for good. Alexandre's lay-in brought TCNJ within 101-99, but Eriq Campbell broke free for a lay-up on the other end to put the Lions in a two-possession hole.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Anguelov was 17-for-27 from the field and 6-of-11 from 3-point range en route to setting a new single-game program record
- Stockton shot 49.2 percent from the floor and 17-of-20 from the line, also accumulating 30 fast-break points
- TCNJ was 33-of-83 (39.3 percent) overall and made 10 3-pointers, but was just 4-of-13 from long range after halftime
- The Lions won the rebounding battle, 51-43, and had 23 offensive rebounds leading to 22 second-chance points
- TCNJ made its first 17 free throws and finished 23-for-28 at the line for the night
NOTES
- TCNJ scored at least 95 points for the third straight game; the Lions have netted 90 in all but two games
- Koch scored at least 20 points for the third time this season
- Okorie notched his sixth career double-double and moved into 22nd on the program's all-time rebounding list (364)
- Okocha matched his career high with four 3-pointers; he has scored in double figures in five straight games and has netted at least nine points in every contest
- Alexandre equaled his career high with seven assists and his season best with six rebounds
- Khalid Bakare posted season highs in points (8) and rebounds (8), the latter matching his career best on the boards
- The road team has won the last four meetings in the series
UP NEXT
- The Lions head to Kean on Saturday
