CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The TCNJ men's basketball team gave itself an early Christmas present on Friday night, posting an impressive 76-66 victory over a strong Denison side at the Jay Bilas Classic.
 
The Lions (8-3) showed their mettle at one of the premier in-season tournaments in Division III, pulling away in the second half to grab an important result against a team ranked 24^th in the NPI. Nick Koch was the catalyst, pouring in a season-high 33 points while playing all 40 minutes to keep TCNJ in command. 
 
The blue and gold took the lead for good at 11-9 on a left-handed runner by Koch, who stepped back and drained a straight-on 3-pointer on the very next possession. The senior continued to cook in the early going, getting to the bucket for a finger-roll and connecting on another triple – both of which answered Denison baskets – before Jonathan Okocha got out on the break for a transition lay-in and a 21-13 lead just past the midway point of the frame.
 
The margin reached double figures right out of a Big Red timeout, when Koch was left open on the left wing and sunk another trey. Denison started to make a move, getting within 30-24, only for Koch to get to the line on consecutive trips and make all four free throws to restore a double-digit advantage. With the Big Red back as close as six at 34-28, Okocha nailed a left-corner 3, and the Lions took a 39-30 edge into the break.
 
TCNJ looked to put the game out of reach right out of intermission, using a 9-2 run that featured a 3 by Okocha and ended with another Koch lay-in to go up 48-32 at the 17:10 mark.
 
Denison (6-3) had other ideas, embarking on a 13-2 run of its own to trim the TCNJ advantage to 50-45. But Koch took matters into his hands once again, driving and kicking to an open Mason Mangione for a deep left-wing triple and a crucial run-stopper. On the next possession, Koch hit a rolling Matthew Solomon for a thunderous jam.
 
The Big Red pulled as close as five again at 55-50, only for Koch to swish a long trey from the left wing. The senior played run-stopper again later in the half, splitting a double and spinning in a lefty lay-in with the Lions clinging to a 63-58 lead with the clock running down to 5 minutes.
 
Koch capped a 6-0 run with another driving basket, and Khalid Bakare came up with a free throw and a huge basket inside to push the margin out to 72-60 with just over 2 minutes remaining.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• TCNJ shot 39.7 percent from the field (25-for-63), 28.6 percent from 3-point range (8-for-28), and 78.3 percent at the free-throw line (18-for-23)
• Denison shot 41.5 percent from the field (27-for-65), 12.5 percent from 3-point range (2-for-16), and 71.4 percent at the free-throw line (10-for-14)
• TCNJ was outrebounded 47-35, but committed only seven turnovers while converting 16 Denison turnovers into 18 points on the other end

FOR THE FOES

• Owen Giannoulias led Denison with 20 points, and Kellon Smith had 10 points and nine rebounds

STANDOUT LIONS

• Koch finished 10-for-21 from the field, including 4-of-8 from long range, and made 9-of-10 from the line
• Koch also racked up seven rebounds and a game-best seven assists along with three steals
• Okocha scored 17 points and matched his season high with eight rebounds
• Bakare paired 10 points with eight boards and was 3-of-4 from the floor
• Solomon produced eight points and five rebounds
• David Alexandre swiped four steals and handed out three assists

NOTES

• This was the first all-time meeting between the two programs
• The contest was a major one for TCNJ; D3Datacast projected the Lions' NCAA at-large chances to rise by 7 percent with the victory over a Denison squad that returned multiple starters from last year's NCAA qualifier
• Koch surpassed Lou LiMato (1,398 points) and Ralph Brateris (1,416) and moved into 8^th on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,418 points and counting
• Solomon moved into a tie with Jimmy Glover (1987-90) for 4^th on the all-time charts with 811 career rebounds

UP NEXT

• The Lions take a crack at another signature victory tomorrow against No. 7 Emory. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. from Charlotte