MONTCLAIR, N.J. - Unwavering.
 
That is the only word that can describe the 2025-26 NJAC Champion TCNJ men's basketball program.
 
A descriptor that has been true of the Lions all year long is as evident as it will ever be this afternoon following TCNJ's 83-81, comeback win over top-seeded and sixth-ranked Montclair State in Saturday's NJAC Championship game. The victory is the Lions' second over the Red Hawks in the span of 10 days, and while the first will be remembered as TCNJ besting the No. 1 team in the country for the first time in program history, this afternoon's means that much more, as it secures the Lions an automatic bid to their third straight NCAA Tournament.
 
The win, however, did not come without any dramatics.
 
Down 79-72 with 3:02 on the clock and leading scorer Nick Koch on the bench having fouled out, TCNJ turned to David Alexandre. With all eyes on him, the junior set his sights on the comeback.
 
First came the 3-pointer to make it 79-75. Next was a lay-in from Lucas Dipasupil to trim the deficit to two. Khalid Bakare forced a Red Hawks turnover on the ensuing possession and it was Alexandre beating the shot clock for a second time in three attempts to level things at 79. A jumper by Montclair State's Kabrien Goss threatened to halt TCNJ's momentum, but Alexandre would not be denied, working his way into the paint and hitting another layup for his sixth and seventh points in the span of 1:40 to knot things once again at 81 and force a Red Hawks timeout
 
Goss got a good look from deep out of the break but missed, and it was Dipasupil forcing the rebound off a Montclair player to give the Lions back the ball with 34 seconds left. The ball found its way to Alexandre out of a TCNJ timeout and – spoiler alert – the junior delivered once again.
 
With time winding down on the shot clock, Alexandre drove right and spun into the paint, but lost his balance. The junior kept his composure to find a cutting Matthew Solomon, and in storybook fashion it was the senior slamming the ball home to give TCNJ its first lead since the 4:58 mark of the first half. The Red Hawks missed a layup on the other end but got an offensive rebound, but there to end things was Solomon, who got his fingers on what would have been the game-winning triple to secure the 83-81 victory and a second NJAC championship in three seasons.
 
TCNJ weathered an early Montclair State storm thanks in large part to the play of its seniors. Despite the hosts going 5-of-5 from 3-point land to start Saturday's game, it was the Lions trio of Koch, Solomon and Jonathan Okocha accounting for TCNJ's first 12 points to keep things close.
 
Neither team could create any sort of separation in a first half that featured 11 lead changes, with the Lions going up 38-36 following a 6-0 run courtesy of Koch and Solomon before the Red Hawks closed the half on a 10-4 run to send TCNJ into the break down 46-42.
 
Montclair State began to pull away to start the second half, ballooning its lead to as much as 12 (64-52) with just over 13 minutes to go following a tip-in from Myles Primas. Koch stopped the bleeding with a layup that cut the deficit back to 10 before Alexandre found a streaking Anthony Milligan on the ensuing possession, with the senior catching the touchdown pass and scoring through contact before converting the and-one to make it a 64-57 game.
 
From there, it was Alexandre time.
 
The junior – who had scored just six points through the game's first 30 minutes – put the team on his back like the program has not seen in decades, scoring 18 of his game-high 24 points in the game's final 10 minutes before dropping the dime on the game-winning dunk to complete an all-time individual performance, and more importantly, the comeback win in the NJAC championship.
 
In a game that likely decided whether TCNJ's season continued or came to a close, the Lions remained unwavering, and are headed back to the NCAA Tournament.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Lions shot 57.6 percent (34-for-60) from the field, just 14.3 percent (2-for-14) from deep and 76.5 percent (13-for-17) from the free throw line.
• Montclair State shot 44.9 percent (31-for-69) from the floor, 38.7 percent (12-for-31) from behind the arc and just 50 percent (7-for-14) at the charity stripe.
• TCNJ dominated down low, outscoring the Red Hawks 58-34 in the paint.

STANDOUT LIONS

• Alexandre was the hero in Saturday's championship, scoring 20 of his game- and career-high 24 points in the second half.
• Solomon posted another monster double-double, finishing with 22 points and 17 rebounds as well as the game-winning dunk and block.
• Koch finished with 14 points in just 22 minutes of action.

FOR THE FOES

• Goss posted a team-high 18 points to pair with five assists.
• Jacob Morales finished with 12 points, four rebounds and five assists.
• Cristian Nicholson (11), Myles Primas (11), Andrew Martin (11) and Ryan Cassels (10) all scored in double figures.

UP NEXT

• Having secured the NJAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Lions will await their opponent to be announced during Monday's Selection Show at 2 p.m. on NCAA.com