WAYNE, N.J. – A trio of huge performances powered the TCNJ men's basketball team past William Paterson for a much-needed road victory, 89-84, in a Saturday afternoon NJAC shootout.
 
Nick Koch dropped in a game-high 28 points and double-doubles from Matthew Okorie and Matthew Solomon proved just enough to help the Lions outlast the Pioneers and pull back into a tie for second place in the crowded NJAC standings.
 
FOR THE RECORD

• TCNJ is now 16-6 overall and 10-5 in the NJAC, tied with Stockton and Montclair State for second place and one win from clinching a playoff berth. WPU fell to 6-16 (1-14 NJAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Jack Vreeswyk was hot early, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers as TCNJ grabbed a 16-10 lead just shy of the 12-minute mark, but WPU countered with eight in a row to take the lead and kick off a tug-of-war that lasted well into the second half
• Solomon's thunderous dunk off a feed from Koch capped a 12-3 spurt that left the visitors in front, 28-21, and TCNJ still held that margin at 40-33 on Khalid Bakare's put-back with 1:50 to go before intermission
• WPU scored the last five points of the period to get within two and still trailed by just three (43-40) when the Lions began to separate in the second half. Koch fed Solomon for a bucket, then converted a three-point play and a 3-pointer before Okorie scored inside to put a bow on a quick 10-0 run and, after WPU stopped the bleeding, Koch fed Solomon again before his own steal-and-layup expanded the margin to 57-42 with 15:12 to go
• The Lions maintained a double-digit lead for almost 10 minutes until the Pioneers scored five straight to trim the deficit to 68-62. Twice they got as close as four (71-67 and 77-73), but TCNJ got clutch buckets from Solomon and Koch, respectively, to prevent the hosts from getting any nearer
• Two free throws by WPU made it 87-84 with 7 seconds left, but James Beckwith iced the game with two at the stripe

FOR THE FOES

• Neftali Valentine matched Koch with a game-high 28 and Andre Wells supported him with 23 points and 10 assists
• Shane Geene chipped in 10 points and Shawn Summers Jr. paired seven points with 12 rebounds

STANDOUT LIONS

• Koch was tremendous, going 9-of-18 from the floor and 8-of-10 at the line. He also dished out seven assists without a turnover
• Okorie had 17 points on 7-of-11 from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds
• Solomon upped his double-double tally to a dozen with another hyper-efficient effort, making 7-of-9 shots to couple 15 points with 15 boards
• Vreeswyk netted 12 points on four 3-pointers, and Beckwith finished with eight

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• TCNJ shot 45.2 percent overall (33-for-73) and was 52.9 percent in the second half (18-for-34)
• The Lions outperformed the Pioneers on the boards (48-40) and in the paint (32-16)
• TCNJ racked up 16 assists to only eight turnovers and held WPU to 39.4 percent from the field (28-for-71)

NOTES

• Solomon moved into a tie with former teammate Danny Bodine '23 for 23rd in program history with 351 career rebounds. He also recorded his 100th career assist

UP NEXT

• TCNJ returns to Packer Hall on Wednesday for a critical showdown with Stockton