HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team erased most of a 21-point deficit in the finale of Centenary's tip-off tournament on Saturday, but the Blue & Gold's climb proved too steep as Drew claimed the title with a 93-84 victory.
Lucas Dipasupil put together another prolific performance, pouring in a team-high 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting, but the Lions had no answer for Ben Manns on the other end as the big man powered the Rangers to the finish line with 31 points and nine boards.
TCNJ's only lead came four minutes into the game, when Dipasupil and
Mason Mangione nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 11-10 in favor of the Pride. Drew, however, grabbed the upper hand for good with a triple of its own, and made its move with a 12-0 run starting at the 12-minute mark to put the Lions in a 30-15 hole.
It only got worse from there, the Rangers using an extended 13-5 run to expand their lead to as many as 21 points (45-24) late in the half, after which they carried a 47-29 advantage into intermission.
That margin proved too much to overcome, but the Lions made Drew sweat it out with a blazing second-half shooting performance. TCNJ shot 62.2 percent from the field after the break (23-of-37), including a ridiculous 20-of-24 (83.3 percent) inside the arc.
TCNJ still trailed by 17 (65-48) just shy of the 12-minute mark, but Mangione connected on treys on consecutive possessions to quickly trim that lead down to 11, and the Lions finally got it to single digits on a bucket by
Khalid Bakare to make it 69-60 with 10:20 left.
Drew managed to keep the Lions at arm's length, building its lead back to 13 (82-69) with under six to play, and that's when TCNJ made its final move. Dipasupil sandwiched a pair of field goals around a three-point play from
Jamari Smith, getting the Blue & Gold as close as 82-76. TCNJ got two consecutive stops, but misfired on 3-pointers on the other end, and never got closer than the five-point margin that remained at 87-82 after another conventional three-point play from Smith with 1:28 left. Drew went 5-of-6 from the line around a dunk by Manns to close it out.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- TCNJ's sizzling second half left it at 53.2 percent from the field for the day (33-of-62)
- Drew shot 50.8 percent overall (33-of-65), hitting at least 50 percent in both halves
- The Rangers were 7-of-14 from 3-point range in the first half but 0-of-7 after
- Drew converted 14 TCNJ turnovers into 23 points on the other end, while committing just nine turnovers of its own
- The Rangers won the rebounding battle, 37-28, and limited TCNJ to just two offensive boards
FOR THE FOES
- Manns was 12-of-20 from the field, adding four assists to his near double-double
- Dylan Napoleon made all six of his field-goal attempts and finished with 16 points
- Taylor Perlmutter added 13 points, while Erik Porch and Marc Herasme chipped in 11 apiece
STANDOUT LIONS
- Dipasupil made two-thirds of his shots for the second night in a row, adding six assists to just one turnover
- Smith was 5-of-7 from the floor and 6-for-7 at the line en route to a 16-point effort
- Mangione netted 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, making three 3-pointers for the second time in as many games
- Jordan Robinson had eight points and five rebounds, while Bakare paired six points with five boards
- Nick Seeloch had five points and three steals
NOTES
- Drew and TCNJ met in the tournament championship game for the third year in a row. Last season, the Rangers won 82-78 when Drew served as tournament host, and two years ago the Lions prevailed 103-102 in overtime at FDU-Florham
- Dipasupil finished the tournament averaging 31.0 points per game on 66.7-percent shooting, handing out nine assists against just two turnovers
- Kameron Crews registered his first collegiate points on a basket in his TCNJ debut
- Mason Determann made his collegiate debut, while Leo Hinshilwood logged his first action of the season
UP NEXT
- The Lions host CCNY in their first game of the Greg Grant Tip-Off Classic on Friday, November 13
