EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team whittled a 26-point second-half deficit all the way down to nine, but the furious rally couldn't quite overcome the massive hole as visiting Stockton claimed a 90-77 NJAC victory on Wednesday night.
 
FOR THE RECORD

• Stockton improved to 15-8 overall and 11-5 in the NJAC, tied for second with Montclair State. TCNJ, meanwhile, dropped to 16-7 overall and 10-6 in league play, all alone in fourth place and a game ahead of fifth-place Ramapo

HOW IT HAPPENED

• James Beckwith came out firing with 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, and Nick Koch's twisting lay-in gave the Lions an early 8-5 lead
• Stockton gradually began to take control around the 15-minute mark, turning a 13-11 deficit into a double-digit lead (28-18) with a 17-5 run over the next six minutes
• Koch fed Matthew Solomon for a dunk and then buried a left-wing triple to get within 36-32 at the 4:45 mark, but the Ospreys went on a huge run to close the half, scoring 16 consecutive points and leaving the court with a 20-point advantage (52-32) after DJ Campbell beat the buzzer with a 3
• TCNJ made two big runs in the second half. The first came at the 16:57 mark, when Koch's lay-up fueled an 11-2 spurt that ended in a Beckwith trey and trimmed the deficit down to 15 (62-47) with a healthy 14:43 still on the clock
• Stockton countered with an 11-0 run over the next two minutes to extend the lead out to 26 (73-47), but Koch's three-point play quickly polished off a 7-0 run to get within 73-54
• 3-pointers by Jack Vreeswyk and Jonathan Okocha got the spread down to 14 (76-62) with just under 10 minutes to go, before the Ospreys pushed it back out to 18
• The Lions had one charge left in them, getting within 82-73 after another 3-pointer from Beckwith and two free throws by Matthew Okorie at the 3:33 mark
• Beckwith had a good look at a 3-pointer that would've made it a 6-point game but was off the mark, and Stockton scored on a steal coming the other way to essentially put the game to bed

FOR THE FOES

• EJ Matthews-Spratley finished with a game-high 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting
• Campbell scored 16 of his 20 in the first half, and Tayvon Gaither provided 18 points

STANDOUT LIONS

• Koch was tremendous, piling up 23 points and seven assists and drawing 10 Stockton fouls
• Beckwith netted a season-best 20 points
• Vreeswyk tallied 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting
• Okorie matched his career high with 14 rebounds, and Solomon grabbed 13

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Stockton shot 52.5 percent for the night (31-of-59)
• The Ospreys had huge edges in fast-break points (21-8) and points off turnovers (23-12)
• TCNJ shot 39.1 percent (27-for-69) and 9-for-29 from 3-point range (31.0 percent)
• The Lions owned a 42-36 edge on the glass, with 18 offensive rebounds leading to 14 second-chance points

UP NEXT

• TCNJ plays its final regular-season road game at Ramapo on Saturday in a potential playoff preview