EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team dug all the way out of a double-digit deficit with under four minutes remaining in Saturday's Greg Grant Classic finale, but Ursinus made one more play in the final minute and managed to escape Packer Hall with a 79-76 victory in an exciting non-conference matchup.
Lucas Dipasupil scored a game-high 23 points for the Lions (1-3), who came back from 10 down to pull even in the final minute, only to watch as the Bears broke the deadlock on the other end and got a pair of stops to secure a narrow win.
TCNJ never in the first half, but the stanza was nip-and-tuck for much of the night. Leading 16-10 after a jumper by Dipasupil, the Bears (3-1) closed within one with a quick five points, but
Daniel Yarus drained deep 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to give the home side some separation with a 22-15 lead at the midway point of the half.
After a baseline runner by
Nick Seeloch and four straight points from Robinson – the first two on a crafty hesitation move to split a double team for a lay-in – the Lions had run the lead out to double digits for the first time at 28-17.
Another set of back-to-back triples, these two out of the hands of Mangione, put Ursinus in a 34-21 hole at the 5:26 mark of the first frame, but the visitors promptly reeled off nine straight points to get within four before Dipasupil stopped the run by putting back his own miss. Mangione drilled two more triples before the end of the half, the last putting the Lions on top, 44-36, before Jamie Murphy split a pair at the line to cap the first-half scoring.
Ursinus came out sizzling to start the second half, making each of its first six shots as part of a 19-2 run over nearly eight minutes out of the break; by the time Dipasupil scored in transition just shy of the 12-minute mark, the Bears had opened up a 54-46 advantage.
Ursinus continued to keep the Lions at arm's length, twice more leading by 10 before grabbing its largest lead of the night at 69-58 as the clock ticked under six minutes. TCNJ was far from done.
Still trailing by 10 (73-63) with under four minutes remaining, the Lions scored five straight points – all on free throws – to cut the margin in half. After an Ursinus foul shot, Mangione nailed another left-wing triple to get within 74-71.
Khalid Bakare's tip-in brought TCNJ within two at 76-74, and Dipasupil's driving bucket with 45 ticks showing brought the home side level for the first time in 18 minutes.
The Bears got another huge bucket from Murphy on the other end, and Dipasupil was off on a tough floater that would have tied it. Ursinus gave the Lions one last chance by missing the second of two free throws with 7.1 seconds to go, but TCNJ was unable to get off a shot at a tying 3-pointer.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Ursinus shot 60.0 percent from the field after halftime (15-for-25) to finish at a solid 47.5 percent (29-of-61)
- TCNJ, conversely, finished at 40.0 percent (26-for-65) after going just 9-for-30 (30.0 percent) in the second half
- The Lions were 8-for-16 from 3-point range in the first half and just 1-of-9 in the second
- Ursinus outscored TCNJ, 46-32, in the paint
FOR THE FOES
- Murphy led the Bears with 22 points, seven rebounds, and four assists
- Matthew Field poured in 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting and collected nine boards
STANDOUT LIONS
- Dipasupil stuffed the stat sheet with a game-high 23 points along with seven rebounds, five assists, four steals, and a blocked shot
- Mangione was 5-for-8 from long range on the way to a 15-point night
- Robinson had his best game as a Lion, scoring a career-high 15 points on 5-of-9 from the field while grabbing seven rebounds
NOTES
- Dipasupil scored 23 points in both games this weekend and has netted at least that many in all four games for the year
- Mangione's five 3-pointers marked a career best
- Yarus connected on multiple triples for the first time since last December
UP NEXT
- The Lions take the week off before resuming non-conference play at Gwynedd Mercy on Monday, November 23
