MADISON, N.J. – In his first game at the helm of the No. 24 TCNJ men's basketball team, head coach Evan Elberg saw his squad rout FDU-Florham, 96-71. Three Lions scored in double digits to push the team to a season-opening triumph, including Nick Koch who went off for 31.

The victory gave Elberg the first of his career, and on the same floor where he played his collegiate basketball. It also sent the Lions to the championship game of Drew's tip-off tournament, set for Sunday against the host Rangers.
 
Koch's 31 was just 6 points shy of his career high that he set in last year's season opener. He went an efficient 11-for-19 from the field, hitting 3 triples and going a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Koch also flirted with a triple double, pulling down 6 rebounds and logging 8 assists.
 
David Alexandre made his presence felt on both sides of the floor, pouring in 18 points while nabbing 3 steals. Alexandre was the most efficient Lions player on offense, hitting at a 7-for-11 clip. Jonathan Okocha was the third Lion in double-figures; he scored 13 (4-9 FG) while also getting 6 boards. Daniel Yarus was just shy of double-digit points in his first career start, as he scored 9 points on three three-pointers.
 
The first half was particularly dominant for TCNJ, as the Lions outscored the Devils 61-28 in the first twenty minutes. In that half, the Lions allowed a shooting percentage of just 31.43%. For their own shooting, the Lions did a lot of damage from long range, going 13-of-34 (38.2%) from beyond the arc. The Lions also won the rebounding battle by 10, with Matthew Solomon leading all players in that category with 13 boards.
 
The Lions now advance to the championship of the season-opening tournament, where they will play a highly-anticipated contest against Drew at 4:00 PM on Sunday. Last year, TCNJ defeated Drew in an early-season tournament, 103-102, in overtime.

NOTES

• Koch moved up three spots to 13th all-time with 1,233 career points and counting
• Koch also ascended to a tie with Greg Grant for sixth on the all-time assists charts (273)