UNION, N.J. – The TCNJ football team's tried-and-true formula of a strong running game paired with a stout defense continued its extended run of success on Saturday as the Lions used a 10-point run late in the first half to secure a 24-7 NJAC victory at Kean.
 
Joe Visaggio rumbled for 116 yards and a touchdown and Alex Dille added a pair of rushing scores for the Lions (6-1, 3-1), who ground up the Cougars defense for 258 rushing yards en route to their third consecutive victory. With the win, TCNJ has already matched last season for its highest total since going 7-3 in 2011.
 
The blue and gold's defensive destruction continued unabated on Saturday, when the Lions held their third straight opponent to seven points or less; TCNJ has limited five of its first seven foes to that number.
 
TCNJ needed more than a quarter to break a scoreless deadlock. Visaggio was stuffed at the goal-line on a fourth-down play on the Lions' first drive of the afternoon, but Nick Surdo and Justin Gooden combined on a huge fourth-down sack to kill a Kean march that had taken the hosts down to the TCNJ 31.
 
A big play ignited the game's first score, with Dean Licari finding Ryan Gill for a 50-yard gain down to the Cougars' 17. Four plays later, Dille scored on an 8-yard run on 4^th-and-1 to stake the Lions to a 7-0 lead in the first minute of the second quarter.
 
Kean (1-6, 0-4) pulled even on its next possession, with Rocco Pellegrini hitting on five consecutive passes for 74 yards, capped by a 9-yard touchdown strike.
 
The Cougars looked set to take the lead when TCNJ fumbled on the ensuing kickoff return, but a sack by Bill Westerby forced the hosts out of field-goal range and kept the blue and gold level.
 
After a quick three-and-out, Mark Musumeci gave the ball back to the Lions with a fumble recovery, and they took advantage of a short field to go ahead, 14-7, on Dille's 3-yard score with 3:28 left in the first half.
 
The momentum shifted again two minutes later, when Justin Kurc and Tyler Van Cleef combined to bring down a Cougar receiver a yard shy of the sticks on a 4^th-and-1 inside TCNJ territory. Long runs of 21 and 18 yards by Visaggio gave the Lions a chance at a last-second field goal, and Tim Willever booted a 46-yard field goal through the uprights to make it 17-7 as the first-half clock expired.
 
Van Cleef made more big plays in the second half, the first getting a block on a 46-yard field goal attempt to preserve the 10-point advantage. Visaggio's 5-yard touchdown run expanded the spread to 24-7 with 13:23 remaining.
 
Kean got to midfield late in the fourth, only for Van Cleef to pick off Pellegrini to seal it.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• TCNJ finished with 258 rushing yards, its fifth game of the season with at least 250 on the ground
• The Lions held a 19-11 advantage in first downs
• The TCNJ defense limited Kean to a meager 15 yards on the ground

STANDOUT LIONS

• Visaggio netted 116 yards on 20 carries, a career high and his second 100-plus yard effort of the year
• Jordan Morrell produced 67 yards on 16 rushes, while Dille had a career-high 56
• Gill caught two passes for 60 yards and now has 131 receiving yards in his last two games
• Dave Giulian led the Lions with nine tackles, while Matt Cassidy added eight
• Jameson Sessa racked up three tackles for loss, including a sack
• Van Cleef's interception was the first of his career
• Willever's 46-yard field goal was his longest as a Lion

NOTES

• Giulian (189) is closing in on 200 career tackles, while Sessa (98) is almost at the triple-digit mark and went over 20 career tackles for loss in the win
• TCNJ has an interception in all seven games this season
• Van Cleef's block was the Lions' fifth blocked kick of the year

UP NEXT

• The Lions play host to Rowan next Saturday in a massive NJAC rivalry clash