EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ men’s basketball team used a massive advantage at the charity stripe to hold off a stern challenge from Rutgers-Camden for a 75-68 victory in Tuesday’s NJAC opener.
 
Matthew Solomon scored a game-high 20 points and Nick Koch added 17 points, six rebounds, and six assists as the Lions (5-1, 1-0) upped their winning streak to three and remained perfect (5-0) at Packer Hall in the early part of the season.
 
Rutgers-Camden (3-3, 0-1) made 10 more field goals than TCNJ, but the Lions went 33-for-41 at the foul line compared to a 6-of-14 mark for the visitors, which proved pivotal in a game that was played within a two-possession margin for almost its entirety.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Scarlet Raptors led 6-2 early, but back-to-back triples by Koch and James Beckwith gave the Lions the upper hand and set off a back-and-forth first half that featured three ties and four lead changes
• Neither side led by more than four until just past the 9-minute mark, when the Lions had just kick-started a 10-0 spurt over a span of 5:09 that brought on the first double-digit margin of the night (27-17) on Koch’s three-point play on the break with 7:15 to play in the opening half
• The Scarlet Raptors, however, countered with eight straight of their own to get within two before Solomon and David Alexandre combined to make five free throws and stretch the spread back out to seven at 32-25
• Rutgers-Camden closed the first half on a 7-1 run to trim TCNJ’s advantage to just one (35-34) at the break
• The second half was much like the first, both sides trading jabs in an effort to gain some separation. Rutgers-Camden found itself in front, 48-46, before Solomon ignited a 9-2 burst with a pair of free throws to tie it. Consecutive triples by Anthony Milligan and David Alexandre sandwiched one by the Scarlet Raptors, and Solomon then hit Milligan with a perfect back-door bounce pass to make it 56-51 with 10:38 to go
• After Cameron Downs notched a pair of three-point plays in a 15-second span to put Camden back on top, the Lions nosed in front for good at the foul line. Koch made a pair on consecutive possessions and Alexandre added two of his own to open up a five-point lead at 62-57
• The Scarlet Raptors got within one with four straight points, and it remained a one-point game until Solomon buried a massive 3-pointer from the top of the key, his first attempt from beyond the arc, to make it 68-64 with an even 4:00 to play
• Rutgers-Camden twice got back within two and had multiple chances to take the lead back, but the Lions got key stops each time and went back up by four at 72-68 on two more Solomon free throws with 1:39 left. The Scarlet Raptors never scored again, coming up empty on their last six possessions

FOR THE FOES

• Downs and Cherif Kanoute scored 11 points apiece and Eric Benjamin chipped in 10
• Rutgers-Camden shot 48.2 percent for the night (27-of-56) and was above 50 percent for most of the second half, but was undone by 20 turnovers and poor foul shooting

STANDOUT LIONS

• Solomon scored his 20 on just six field-goal attempts, making four of them and going 11-for-14 at the line. The sophomore big drew nine Camden fouls, while Koch and Larranaga drew six apiece. Solomon also had 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, plus three assists and a pair of blocks
• Koch was 6-for-7 at the foul line, and Larranaga scored all seven of his points there (7-for-8). Alexandre finished 6-of-8 at the stripe and wound up with nine points
• Vreeswyk, the MVP of the Greg Grant Tip-Off Tournament, made his first career start in place of the injured Matthew Okorie. He made two of his three 3-point attempts and finished with eight points and four rebounds

NOTES

• The Lions extended their winning streak against Rutgers-Camden to 18 games and have won 10 straight at home in the series
• TCNJ shot just 38.6 percent for the game (17-of-44) and 8-for-25 (32.0 percent) from beyond the arc
• The Lions had a 32-28 edge on the boards and scored 21 points off the 20 Camden turnovers
• TCNJ is off to its best start since winning its first seven games of the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign. The Lions haven’t been 5-1 to start a full season since going 9-1 to open 2017-18

UP NEXT

• The Lions have a week off before resuming NJAC play at Rowan next Wednesday