FARMVILLE, Va. – The TCNJ men's basketball team nearly pulled off an epic comeback, climbing all the way out of a 19-point second-half hole to lead with under five minutes remaining in Friday's NCAA Tournament opener against Pittsburgh-Bradford, but the Panthers managed to fend off the Lions, 98-96, in a thrilling shootout at Hampden-Sydney.
 
Nick Koch exploded after halftime for a game-high 32 points and Matthew Solomon paired 21 points with 22 rebounds – believed to be a program record – for TCNJ, which saw its season come to an end in a down-to-the-wire first-round fight for the second year in a row. Jonathan Okocha produced 19 points and six rebounds, and David Alexandre chipped in 13.
 
The Lions spent much of the game down double digits, including by as many as 19 points as late as two minutes into the second half, before staging a furious rally to go in front just 10 minutes later. But Bradford, one of the top-5 highest-scoring teams in Division III – made just enough plays down the stretch to deny the blue and gold their first NCAA victory in five years.
 
TCNJ finished with an overall record of 20-8, posting back-to-back 20-win campaigns and NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in 35 years.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The high-octane Panthers got the best of the early going, storming out to a 9-2 lead three minutes in before Alexandre buried a right-wing triple to stop the bleeding.
 
Bradford answered with a 3 on the other end for a 12-5 advantage and added another around a tough baseline floater by Koch to make it 15-7 before Solomon rocked the rim with a second thunderous jam.
 
Two free throws by Solomon and another floater from Koch capped a 6-0 run to trim the deficit to 15-13. The Panthers countered with a 9-2 burst to stretch their lead to nine (24-15), but Jack Vreeswyk buried a left-wing trey to keep the blue and gold close.
 
Bradford, however, reeled off seven in a row as part of a 10-2 burst to open up a 34-20 margin just shy of the midway point of the first half, and the spread swelled to 39-22 on the front side of the under-8 media timeout.
 
The teams traded baskets for the majority of the remaining first-half time, Bradford leading by 18 on six separate occasions and pulling ahead by as many as 19 (51-32) with 3:17 to go. The Panthers swished another long 3 to put the Lions in a second 19-point hole at 60-41 before Okorie put back an Alexandre miss to make it 60-43 at the break.
 
TCNJ went down by 19 again in the second half at 66-47, but the climb back began on the back of an Okocha 3, igniting a 13-0 run that culminated in a Solomon hook shot.
 
After a Bradford second-chance triple ended the Lions' surge, Koch had a breakaway lay-in snatched out of the air, a possible goaltend call not forthcoming, and the Panthers got a lay-in on the other end to go up 73-64.
 
Back came the Lions, Solomon flying in for an offensive rebound and kicking it out to Okocha for corner 3 to slice the lead to 73-67 with 10 minutes to play. After a stop on the defensive end, Okocha drove the lane and fed Okorie for a lay-in.
 
Jamarion Butler answered with an off-balance fadeaway, only for Koch to get a lefty lay-in to fall through contact and complete a three-point play to make it 75-72 with 8:38 remaining. After two Solomon freebies, Koch came down with a long rebound and took it coast to coast for a lay-in and the first lead of the night, 76-75, with 7:48 to go.
 
Alexandre extended it to three with a driving bucket, then Koch answered a Bradford basket with one of his own off a long inbounds pass from Solomon to make it 80-77.
 
The Lions still led by three, 82-79, after two Okocha free throws with 5:02 to play, but Coby Farley tied it with a deep triple and gave the Panthers the lead for good with a floater at the 4:11 mark. Bradford nosed ahead by five (87-82) with a three-point play in transition, and it was 92-86 after another triple by Farley with 1:54 left.
 
TCNJ had one last push. Koch scored on a euro step in the lane, then drilled a corner 3 after Okocha snagged an offensive rebound to get within 92-91 with 56.6 seconds showing. The Lions got a stop on the other end, but Bradford picked off an errant pass and scored to go up, 94-91.
 
The Lions turned it over on the other end, and two free throws gave the Panthers a 96-91 lead. Koch converted another drive, then answered one Bradford free throw with a 3-pointer to get the blue and gold within 97-96 with 3.5 ticks remaining. Butler got loose to haul in a long inbounds pass and was fouled with 1.7 seconds left, making the first for a 98-96 lead. His second try was off, but Vreeswyk's desperation heave from three-quarters court was just over the backboard as time expired.
 
FOR THE FOES

• Braylen Salters led six in double digits with 18 points
• Jeremy Rodriguez went 5-for-6 from the field en route to 16 points, while Butler had 14 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists
• Farley finished with 11, and Keshon Kittrell added 10

STANDOUT LIONS

• Koch poured in a game-high 32 points, including 26 in the second half, and finished 13-of-24 from the floor
• Solomon was nearly perfect, going 6-of-8 from the field and 9-of-10 at the line
• Okocha made four 3-pointers and grabbed six boards
• Alexandre finished with 13 points and four assists

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Pitt-Bradford shot 34-of-74 from the field (45.9 percent), 14-of-33 from 3-point range (42.4 percent), and 16-of-21 at the line (76.2 percent)
• TCNJ finished 31-of-64 from the floor (48.4 percent), 8-for-25 from 3 (32.0 percent), and 26-for-33 from the stripe (78.8 percent)
• The Lions held the Panthers to 32.5 percent from the field (13-for-40) and 27.8 percent from long range (5-for-18) after Bradford shot 61.8 percent in the first half (61.8) and made nine of its 15 triples
• TCNJ had a huge 52-30 advantage on the glass, including 16 offensive rebounds and a 22-8 edge in second-chance points
• Bradford turned it over just 8 times to 19 for TCNJ

NOTES

• Okorie ends his career with 788 points and ranks 14^th in school history with 493 rebounds
• Vreeswyk scored 463 points and made 101 3-pointers for his career, including 54 this season; he had five points and seven rebounds on Friday
• Koch eclipsed 30 points for the fifth time this season and moved over 1,200 career points
• Solomon will enter his senior season with over 800 points and sits fifth in program history with 705 career rebounds