Matthew Solomon led the TCNJ men’s basketball team to an 81-70 victory over Rowan University on Wednesday night in Glassboro, New Jersey. Solomon scored 20 points and collected 17 rebounds, moving within five points of reaching 1,000 career points.
The Lions improved their record to 9-4 overall and 4-2 in the NJAC. After falling behind by a single point early, TCNJ took the lead with a basket from Daniel Yarus assisted by David Alexandre and held it for the remainder of the game.
Midway through the first half, TCNJ went on a 7-0 run featuring baskets from Solomon and Jordan Robinson. The team held Rowan scoreless for nearly six minutes during this stretch. Lucas Dipasupil contributed two three-pointers as part of a surge that extended the Lions’ lead to 37-22.
Rowan narrowed the gap before halftime but trailed 40-31 at intermission. In the second half, Rowan cut TCNJ’s lead to two points at one stage, but Jonathan Okocha made a three-pointer and Solomon added consecutive scores to give TCNJ some breathing room.
Rowan managed to get within four points twice more, but Nick Koch hit a three-pointer and Dipasupil scored inside to restore a nine-point advantage for TCNJ. Mason Mangione’s three-point shot later increased the margin to nine with just over four minutes remaining. Rowan did not come closer than eight points before time expired.
TCNJ finished shooting 40.6 percent from the field and made nine of its 29 attempts from beyond the arc. The team also converted 80 percent of its free throws. Despite being outrebounded by Rowan (46-39), TCNJ forced its opponent into 18 turnovers while committing only eight themselves, resulting in a decisive edge in points off turnovers.
For Rowan, Brycen Williams led all scorers with 21 points—19 coming after halftime—while Taz Cantey contributed 16 points and seven rebounds.
Among standout performances for TCNJ: Solomon shot nine-of-16 from the field with seven offensive rebounds; Koch had 18 points and seven assists; Alexandre tallied 11 points along with eight rebounds and four assists; Dipasupil matched Okocha with ten points each, marking Dipasupil’s first double-digit scoring game while leading his team with three steals.
Solomon is now poised to become only the program’s 27th player to reach the milestone of 1,000 career points. His rebounding total has reached 836, tying him for third place all-time in school history alongside Bobby Brackett (class of ’17). The Lions have now won four consecutive games against Rowan and have extended their winning streak in Glassboro to four games.
The team’s next matchup will be at home against Rutgers-Newark on Saturday.
