EWING, N.J. – Nick Koch eclipsed 1,000 career points and helped lead the TCNJ men's basketball team to a come-from-behind 73-67 victory over visiting Ramapo on Saturday afternoon in a battle of NJAC playoff hopefuls.
 
Koch paced the pride with 21 points, including three consecutive 3-pointers and the milestone marker on an elbow jumper to spearhead a 17-2 run that turned a 36-29 deficit into a 46-38 lead with 12 minutes remaining. The Lions (15-5, 8-5) eventually spent much of the second half with a double-digit advantage and never let the margin slip below two possessions in picking up a crucial win in the crowded NJAC playoff chase.
 
Matthew Okorie scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half, Matthew Solomon posted a big double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds, and David Alexandre added a dozen second-half tallies for TCNJ, which secured a split with the Roadrunners (14-6, 8-5) and moved into a tie for fourth in the league table with Ramapo and Rowan.
 
Koch hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring, but Peter Gorman went on a personal 11-0 run to put Ramapo on top by eight less than four minutes after tipoff. The Lions righted the ship from the outside, getting back-to-back triples from Daniel Yarus and Okorie to cap an 8-0 run and take a 22-19 lead at the 7:13 mark of the opening half.
 
Ramapo countered with eight straight points, TCNJ answered with seven straight, and eventually the blue and gold went into the break down 31-29.
 
The Roadrunners quickly expanded that lead to seven at 36-29, but that's when Koch got it going from long range. His third of three straight treys gave the Lions the lead for good at 40-38, and he officially joined the 1,000-point club on an elbow jumper that made it 44-38 with 12:08 remaining.
 
Leading 49-45 just shy of the 10-minute mark, Alexandre fueled a 12-2 run with nine points – six of them on 3-pointers – to push TCNJ out to a 61-47 lead with 6:39 left. Ramapo got as close as 62-56, but Okorie scored inside and answered a Ramapo bucket with a 3-pointer to make it 67-58 with 3:39 to play. The Roadrunners twice got within six but could claw no closer.
 
FOR THE FOES

• Gorman led all scorers with 26 points, but finished 8-of-19 from the field after making his first four shots
• Jordan Myers was the only other Roadrunner in double figures with 10

STANDOUT LIONS

• Koch finished 7-of-12 from the floor and 4-for-6 from 3-point range
• Okorie went 6-of-8 in the second half and 8-of-13 overall, matching Koch at 4-of-6 from beyond the arc
• Solomon was force on the glass, snaring 13 defensive rebounds
• Jonathan Okocha was just 1-for-8 from the field but helped out with five rebounds and a team-high five assists
• Khalid Bakare had four points and five rebounds off the bench

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Ramapo shot 41.9 percent (26-for-62) overall and just 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) from 3-point range
• Solomon's efforts helped the Lions secure a 38-35 edge on the glass
• TCNJ shot 44.8 percent from the field (26-of-58), including 56.0 percent in the second half (14-for-25); the Lions went 12-of-29 from 3-point range, starting the second stanza with six makes in their first eight tries from distance

NOTES

• Koch became the 26^th member of the 1,000-point club at TCNJ
• With three assists, Koch moved into 10^th in program history with 230 for his career; he also secured his 200^th career rebound
• Solomon matched his season high with 15 boards and has at least 10 in five of his last six games
• The Lions have beaten Ramapo four straight times at home

UP NEXT

• TCNJ heads to Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday night