EWING, N.J. — The TCNJ men's basketball team fell victim to cold shooting from the outside and dropped a 73-66 decision to visiting CCNY on Friday night to cap the first day of action at the Greg Grant Tip-Off Classic.
Lucas Dipasupil scored 16 of his team-high 23 points after halftime and
Mason Mangione notched his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, but the Lions were unable to overcome a 4-of-27 performance from behind the 3-point line as the Beavers left Packer Hall with an upset.
Neither side gained much of a foothold in a first half dotted with eight lead changes in the first 10 minutes. The largest lead for either team was just four - TCNJ's coming on the game's first four points - but the Lions appeared set to make a move with a 6-0 run that resulted in a 25-21 lead with 8:25 to go.
CCNY (2-0) responded with a 10-0 burst over the next three minutes before Mangione stopped the sport with one of his two triples on the night, and five free throws by Dipasupil sandwiched around two Beaver freebies brought the home side even at 33 with 2:12 remaining in the half.
The Beavers, however, hit 3s on back-to-back trips and took a 39-35 lead into the locker room.
TCNJ closed to within 40-39 on consecutive buckets by Dipasupil and
Jamari Smith, but a technical foul resulted in four straight free throws for CCNY to staunch the momentum.
The Beavers built their lead up to eight (51-43) with 15 minutes left, only for Dipasupil and Mangione to combine for a 6-0 run that leveled the score at 54.
The lead changed hands several times from there before Xavier Cardona's lay-in gave the Beavers the lead for good, 66-64, with 3:41 to play. TCNJ did not make a field goal over the final 8:47 and went scoreless for the last 2:29 of game time.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- CCNY shot just 38.3 percent overall (23-for-60), but went 23-for-27 at the line (85.2 percent)
- TCNJ was 15-for-27 inside the arc, but was doomed by the 4-for-27 mark (14.2 percent) from 3-point range
FOR THE FOES
- Cardona led all scorers with 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds
- Kasai Fontanez had 11 points, Connor Morhardt added 10, and Jahmire Brewer paired eight points with 13 rebounds
STANDOUT LIONS
- Dipasupil went 12-of-14 at the foul line and handed out six assists
- Mangione made two 3s and secured a career-high 10 boards to go along with three steals
- Smith scored 12 points on 3-of-5 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds
- Khalid Bakare had six points and six boards in addition to a trio of steals
NOTES
- Dipasupil has scored over 20 points in all three games to start the season
- Mangione hit double digits for the third game in a row
UP NEXT
- The Lions take on Ursinus at 5 p.m. Saturday
