EWING, N.J. – Nick Koch and
Matthew Solomon spearheaded a dynamic second half as the TCNJ men's basketball team pulled away from Rutgers-Camden for a 79-68 NJAC victory on Wednesday night.
Koch scored 21 of his game-high 30 points in the second half, somehow getting stronger as the game went on despite playing all 40 minutes and pacing the pride to a sixth consecutive victory. TCNJ (16-5, 11-3) shot nearly 60 percent from the field after intermission to keep the scrappy Scarlet Raptors at arm's length and stay a game ahead of Stockton for second place in the conference standings.
Solomon finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds and aced a tough defensive assignment, limiting Camden's Cameron Downs – the second-leading scorer in the league – to eight points on 1-of-7 shooting.
The Lions came out a bit flat, going down 5-0 early after six scoreless possessions to open the game. They took their first lead at 14-13 thanks to a personal 7-0 run from
Anthony Milligan, who nailed a 3-pointer and finished a beautiful back-door feed from Solomon.
Scoreless for nearly 12 minutes to start the contest, Koch connected on a 3-pointer to kick off his own run of seven straight TCNJ points as the hosts took a 25-18 lead at the 7:07 mark, a margin that remained constant after a 34-27 end to the first frame.
The Scarlet Raptors (10-10, 5-9) came out strong in the second stanza, scoring six straight points to slice the Lion lead to 34-33. The visitors even took a 39-38 lead on a 3-pointer by Romelo Mangum with 17:02 remaining, but it was the last time TCNJ would look up on the scoreboard.
Solomon gave the blue and gold a permanent lead with a pair of free throws, and Koch drove the lane for back-to-back lay-ins in a quick 6-0 run. After a brief interlude as Camden scored inside, Koch went right back to work with a three-point play and a steal and lay-up to finish off a 7-0 spurt and make it 51-41 at the 14:05 mark.
The spread tilted between six and 10 points for much of the remaining time. TCNJ went up by 10 when Koch set up
Khalid Bakare for a three-point play to make it 69-59 with 5:06 left. Leading 73-66 just outside the 2-minute mark, Solomon hit Koch in stride with the second of two baseball inbounds passes for an easy bucket, and Milligan's block sprung Koch for a transition bucket that ultimately iced the game.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Camden shot 45.3 percent overall (24-for-53), 39.1 percent from 3-point range (9-for-23), and 73.3 percent at the line (11-for-15)
- TCNJ was an even 50.0 percent from the field (27-for-54), including 59.3 percent after halftime (16-for-27) to offset a tough night from behind the arc (5-of-16)
- TCNJ dominated the paint (42-24 points) and the glass (35-24) against the undersized Scarlet Raptors
- Both teams took exceptional care of the ball – Camden had 19 assists to eight turnovers, while TCNJ had twice as many assists (14) as miscues (7)
FOR THE FOES
- Eric Benjamin led RU-C with 22 points
- Makai Crawford also hit double figures with 10 points alongside four rebounds and four assists
- Downs, who came in averaging 21.2 points per game, managed just eight but did have seven rebounds and three assists
STANDOUT LIONS
- Koch was 11-of-22 from the field and a perfect 7-for-7 at the line; he narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds and a game-high six assists
- Solomon finished 6-for-9 from the floor and 7-of-9 at the line, making his last seven from the stripe; he also handed out four assists and had a steal
- Jonathan Okocha made three 3s on the way to an 11-point night
- Milligan had all nine of his points - a season high - in the first half and also added four rebounds and three blocked shots
NOTES
- Koch is now just 12 points from passing Scott Findlay '06 for second on the all-time scoring list (1,668 points)
- Solomon surpassed 1,100 career points and now has 941 rebounds, just 25 from catching Findlay for second in school history
- Solomon also passed TCNJ legend Greg Grant and moved into seventh in program history with 276 career assists
- Okocha passed Travis Jocelyn '20 and moved into 14th all-time with 112 career 3-pointers
- The Lions have won 23 in a row over Rutgers-Camden
UP NEXT
- The Lions head to Rutgers-Newark on Saturday night
