EWING, N.J. - The TCNJ men's basketball team hosted Ramapo in its final home game of the calendar year Saturday afternoon, outscoring the Roadrunners 40-24 in the second half en route to a dominant, 76-51 win in front of the home crowd.
 
Four players scored in double figures – paced by Nick Koch's game-high 19 – in one of the Lions' (7-3, 3-2 NJAC) most balanced offensive games of the season.Completing the quartet were Khalid Bakare (12), David Alexandre (11) and Matthew Solomon (11), with Alexandre adding a season and game-high nine rebounds while Koch fell one assist shy of his season-best mark with seven to lead all players.
 
TCNJ struggled to find its offense early, going one for its first nine while Ramapo (2-8, 1-4 NJAC) got five points from Tyler Murchison to jump out to a 7-2 lead. The visitors built their advantage to as much as seven before Mason Mangione finally broke the seal with the first of three straight Lion triples to spark to put TCNJ in front, with a Bakare putback capping off an 11-0 burst to make it 15-11 in favor of the blue and gold
 
A Ramapo layup rounded out a 12-5 response that put the Roadrunners back in front 23-20, but it was the Lions turning to their backcourt of Koch and Alexandre down the stretch to take a nine-point lead into the break. Down one as the clock ticked under five, the duo combined to score 12 of TCNJ's final 14 points, the latter of which came via a buzzer-beating halfcourt heave from Koch to put the Lions up 36-27.
 
TCNJ rode the momentum of Koch's last-second shot into the second half, opening the frame with a 26-5 run through the opening nine minutes that made it a 63-32 advantage and all but put the game out of reach. A 13-1 response trimmed the lead to 19, but buckets from Koch, Solomon, Leo Hinshilwood and Terrance Wood would keep the Lions in front before a 4-0 Ramapo run to end the game wrapped up the 76-51 victory for TCNJ.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Lions shot 39.2 percent (29-for-74) from the field, 28.6 percent (12-for-42) from deep and 85.7 percent (6-for-7) from the free throw line.
• The Roadrunners shot 39.2 percent (20-for-51) from the floor, 18.2 percent (2-for-11) from behind the arc and 90 percent (9-for-1) at the charity stripe.
• TCNJ held a strong 43-31 edge in rebounds, including a 13-2 advantage on the offensive glass.
• The Lions turned 13 Ramapo turnovers into 16 points on the other end.
• TCNJ also finished with commanding leads in second-chance points (11-1), points in the paint (34-16) and fastbreak points (16-2).

STANDOUT LIONS

• Koch and Alexandre did it all for the Lions, combining for 30 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists.
• Making his first collegiate start, Bakare finished second on the team in both scoring (12) and rebounds (8) in 27 minutes of action.
• Mangione led all scorers off the bench with nine coming via three triples.
• Hinshillwood's points were the first of his collegiate career.
• Wood's made field goal on a hard take to the basket was also the first of his career.

FOR THE FOES

• Elijah Barlow (15) and Branden Moore (11) got into double figures for the Roadrunners.
• Jalen Thomas finished with a team-high eight rebounds.

UP NEXT

• The Lions will head to Charlotte, N.C. to compete in the Jay Bilas Classic, taking on Denison Friday, Dec. 19 before facing off against seventh-ranked Emory Saturday.