CNBNews

GLASSBORO, NJ -  A furious second-half rally by Rowan fell short as TCNJ held on for an 82-72 win in NJAC men’s basketball action at Esby Gym. Khalif Meares led Rowan (4-3; 0-2 NJAC) with a game-high 25 points. 

Meares added seven rebounds and six steals, and Mikey Robinson, Jr., had 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting in 12 minutes for the Profs.

In the final two minutes, a three from Meares pulled Rowan within, 74-68, and after a TCNJ miss, Chris McCarron hit a three-pointer from the corner to cut the deficit to 74-71 at 1:23. But Rowan couldn’t convert the rest of the way while TCNJ went 8-for-8 from the foul line in the final 53 seconds to seal the win. 

TCNJ (6-1; 2-0) led by 20, 48-28, early in the second half, but Rowan began to chip away. Trailing 53-34, the Profs forced five TCNJ turnovers during a 13-4 run to pull within, 53-47 with over 11 minutes to play. Meares had five points in the spurt while Moddy Bickley connected on a three-pointer. Meares then scored six in a row to cut the Profs’ deficit to 56-53 at 9:11.

TCNJ’s Jason Larranga answered with 13 straight points to lead a 15-4 run as the visitors upped their lead back to 71-57 with just over five minutes to play. The Lions maintained the double-digit advantage until Rowan scored eight straight, ending in McCarron’s three at 1:25. 

The teams traded leads in the early going and TCNJ made its move, first going up 21-17, and then after the Profs took a 22-21 lead, closed out the half with a 21-4 run. The Lions were 9-for-12 from the field during that spurt and took a 42-26 lead at halftime. 

Larranga finished with a game-high 23 points with Nick Koch putting in 21 for the Lions. 

Rowan heads to William Paterson on Saturday and is back in Esby Gym on Wednesday, December 6^th to host Rutgers-Camden in a 5:30 p.m. start.