The TCNJ men’s basketball team began the second half of New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play with a strong performance, defeating William Paterson University 74-51 on the road. The victory marks the Lions’ sixth consecutive regular-season sweep of the Pioneers.
Senior Matthew Solomon recorded a season-high 20 rebounds along with 11 points. Fellow senior Nick Koch led all scorers with 23 points, adding seven rebounds and seven assists. The Lions now hold a 12-5 overall record and are 7-3 in conference play, remaining one game behind New Jersey City University for second place in the NJAC standings.
TCNJ established control early, limiting William Paterson to just 26.8 percent shooting from the field. The Lions took the lead less than a minute into the game and did not trail after that point. It took over five minutes for WPU to score its first basket, during which time TCNJ set an early defensive tone.
After building an initial lead, TCNJ extended its advantage to double digits on a three-pointer by Jonathan Okocha and continued to pull away through contributions from several players including Jordan Robinson and Lucas Dipasupil. At halftime, TCNJ led 32-17.
In the second half, Koch scored five quick points to widen the gap further. The Lions pushed their lead to as much as 30 points before WPU responded with an 11-point run; however, they were unable to cut the deficit below 19.
According to game statistics, TCNJ shot 40.3 percent from the field and held a narrow edge in rebounding with a total of 51 boards compared to WPU’s 47. The Lions also distributed 19 assists while committing only 11 turnovers.
Koch matched his season high in rebounds and moved into fifth place on TCNJ’s all-time scoring list with a career total of 1,542 points; he is nine points away from advancing into third place overall. Solomon now has nearly reached the milestone of 900 career rebounds and recorded his thirty-fourth career double-double.
For William Paterson, Jianni Moran was their top scorer with eleven points.
TCNJ has now won twelve straight games against William Paterson—their second-longest active streak against any NJAC opponent—and have taken three out of their last four conference road games. The team will next face Kean University on Saturday in another key conference matchup.
