MAHWAH, N.J. – Efficient performances from its tandem of senior stars once again powered the TCNJ men's basketball team to a resounding NJAC victory on Saturday, this time an 85-59 decision as the visiting Lions pulled away from Ramapo after a tight first half.
Nick Koch poured in a game-high 27 points on just 11 field-goal attempts and added nine assists, just missing out on joining
Matthew Solomon (15 points, 10 rebounds) with a double-double.
TCNJ (15-5, 10-3) completed a season sweep of the Roadrunners and stretched its winning streak to five games, but not without some early resistance. The first half featured five ties and four lead changes, and Ramapo found itself in front as late as the 4:12 mark of the period before Solomon knotted it at 20-20 on a free throw.
David Alexandre's 3-pointer gave TCNJ a lead it would not relinquish, and
Mason Mangione set the tone for a dominant second half with a triple that beat the buzzer and gave the blue and gold a 28-24 halftime cushion.
The Lions didn't take long to create enough separation for a runaway rout after intermission, getting four points from Koch and six from Solomon, the last two on a thunderous dunk as he finished a feed from Koch, during a 13-2 spurt that left Ramapo with a 15-point deficit (43-28) just five minutes into the second stanza.
Consecutive 3-pointers around the 8-minute mark of the frame by Koch and
Connor Howard put the margin over 20 at 64-41, and the Roadrunners never brought it under 20 the rest of the way.
Daniel Yarus and Howard nailed back-to-back treys to make it 74-45 before the dust settled on a 26-point final spread.
After going just 9-of-27 (33.3 percent) in the first half, the Lions shot a blistering 57.6 percent after the break (19-of-33).
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- TCNJ shot 46.7 percent from the field (28-for-60), 35.3 percent from 3-point distance (12-for-34), and 85.0 percent at the foul line (17-for-20)
- The Lions held Ramapo to just 29.7 percent from the field (19-for-64), 21.4 percent from 3-point distance (3-for-14), and 85.7 percent at the foul line (18-for-21); Ramapo managed just 0.86 points per possession on the day
- TCNJ doubled up the Roadrunners in the paint (32-16) and secured a 42-37 advantage on the glass
FOR THE FOES
- Elijah Barlow paced the hosts with 16 points
- Orion Mickens had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds
STANDOUT LIONS
- Koch finished 9-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, and made all six of his free throws; he also grabbed six rebounds and handed out nine assists to just three turnovers
- Solomon made 5-of-7 from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers
- Howard netted a career-high eight points in just six minutes off the bench
- Mangione had seven points, while Khalid Bakare added six points and five boards
- Lucas Dipasupil grabbed six rebounds in just seven minutes
- Leo Hinshillwood and Terrance Wood each made the second field goal of their career
NOTES
- The Lions posted their first sweep of Ramapo since the 2022-23 campaign
- With three assists, Solomon moved into a tie with Tom Murphy (1981-85) for 8th in program history (272)
- With his three 3-pointers, Koch joined teammate Jonathan Okocha as two of the 16 players in program history with more than 100 career triples
UP NEXT
- The Lions host Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday night
