Box score
Davidson, NC... The College of New Jersey men’s basketball team accepted the challenge of facing a renowned Division I opponent in Davidson College and a dropped a 90-49 decision in Davidson, NC.
After fighting through a difficult first-half, the Lions (4-5, 0-2) returned to the court to play competitive basketball for the final 20 minutes. Senior
Aaron Syvertsen (Midland Park, NJ/Midland Park) caught fire in the second half, draining five, three-pointers, but the Wildcats (3-7, 1-1) simply possessed too many weapons for TCNJ to gain any significant ground.
Syvertsen led the Lions with 20 points, while fellow senior
Jay Frank (Brick, NJ/Brick) notched 12 points and four assists. Junior
Steven Siracusa (New Providence, NJ/New Providence) battled as hard as he ever will for a team-leading eight rebounds as Davidson boasted a legion of big men that made for a challenging night under the glass.
Wildcats freshman
Jake Cohen (Berwyn, Pa/Conestoga) led all scorers with 23 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the floor. The 6’ 10” forward also blocked four shots, while 6’ 7” senior
Steve Rossiter (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) grabbed a game-high 11 boards to go along with 12 points.
TCNJ head coach Kelly Williams emphasized the need to handle the ball with care and rebound, and the Lions did a fair job limiting their turnovers. But the Wildcats used their size underneath to open up a 31-point halftime lead, a gap that was far too wide to close against a talented Davidson squad.
In the opening half, Frank made his first three shots to help settle some early nerves felt by the visiting Lions. After Siracusa slashed to the hoop for a basket, the Lions trailed 11-8 at the 15:35 mark. But the Wildcats would later pull away with an 11-0 run midway through the half and continued to stretch that lead through the intermission.
Too many second chances enabled Davidson to build a 54-23 halftime advantage. The Wildcats out-rebounded the Lions 25-13 as Cohen tallied 13 first-half points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. Davidson cut deep when they hit their shots as they drilled nine, first-half three-pointers on 18 attempts. Frank scored all 12 of his points in the opening half and is now 40 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
In the second half, Syvertsen enjoyed a 45-second stretch that he’ll remember for a lifetime. The senior forward drained three consecutive three-point shots to lead TCNJ on a 9-0 run against the Division I Wildcats. All three treys came off assists from Frank.
Davidson shot 52 percent from the floor and hit 43 percent of their three-point attempts. Senior
Bryant Barr (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) was difficult to contain as the 6’ 5” senior guard scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting including four buckets from the behind the three-point arc.
Freshman
Brandon Johnson (Hamilton, NJ/Hamilton West) netted six points for the Lions and sophomore
Pete Kelly (Mercerville, NJ/Nottingham) chipped in with four points.
The trip to Davidson, NC marked the first time since 1998 that the Lions faced a Division I opponent.
The Lions return home to take on Drew University this Saturday, December 19 at 1:00 p.m. at Packer Hall.