Men's Hoops Pulls Away From TCNJ, 75-57

UNION, N.J. (1/31/07) - Junior guard Lamar Wright (Galloway, N.J.) scored a game-high 17 points and led four players in double-figures as the Kean University men's basketball team defeated visiting The College of New Jersey, 75-57, in a pivotal New Jersey Athletic Conference South Division match-up on Wednesday evening.

Wright connected on 6-of-10 shots from the floor and added four assists and three steals for the Cougars (13-8, 4-5 NJAC). Freshman guard Jay Frank (Brick, N.J.) came off the bench to lead the Lions (11-10, 4-5 NJAC) with 15 points, including a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe. Both teams are now tied for the third and final playoff spot in the NJAC South Division.

Trailing 12-10 with 12:56 left in the opening half, the Cougars took the lead for good following back-to-back layups by senior guards Anthony Virgil (Montclair, N.J.) and Bryan Keller (Piscataway, N.J.). Kean used a 12-0 run in the half to extend the lead to as many as 12 points in the opening period, taking a 24-12 lead with 5:09 left on a layup by Virgil.

The Lions answered with a 13-3 run to trim the deficit to 27-25 with 1:24 remaining, as Frank and junior guard Drew Rosenfeld (Haddonfield, N.J.) each scored five points in the spurt. The Cougars added a pair of foul shots by junior forward Keith Mills (Atlantic City, N.J.) to close the half with a 29-25 lead.

For the Cougars, Wright, senior guard Bryan Miller (Trenton, N.J.) and junior guard Will Floyd (Eustis, Fla.) each tallied five points, while junior forward Jeff Warner (Jackson, N.J.) had nine points on three three-pointers in the opening half to lead the Lions.

In the second half, the Cougars built an 11-point advantage at 52-41 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the contest. TCNJ trimmed the Cougar lead to four points on a pair of occasions, the final time on a two free throws by Frank with 6:45 remaining, before the Cougars closed the game on 21-7 run en-route to the 18-point victory.

The Cougars connected on 18-of-32 shots from the floor in the second half and as a team, they recorded 19 assists on 30 field goals, with five different players recording two or more assists.

Floyd finished the game with 13 points, while Miller had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four assists. Senior forward Brett Wyatt (Elizabeth, N.J.) added 10 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists.

For the Lions, Rosenfeld had 13 points, four rebounds and two steals off the bench, while junior forward Mark Aziz (Hackettstown, N.J.), the team's leading scorer coming into the contest, was limited to just seven points and six rebounds, eight points below his season average.

The Cougars return to action on Saturday, February 3, when they travel to Rutgers-Newark for a NJAC match-up. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.