Union, N.J. (12/1/12) – Sophomore Alex Fox led all players with 31 points as the College of New Jersey defeated the Kean University men's basketball team, 63-53, Saturday afternoon in NJAC action.
Junior Michael Burton led the Cougars (0-5, 0-3 NJAC) with 17 points while junior Skyelar Ettin added 16 points for the Lions (1-4, 1-2 NJAC).
It was a tightly contested first half, but the Lions used a 6-0 run over a three minute span to pull into the lead. Tied at 14-all, Fox netted six straight points with a trey and three free throws, to give TCNJ a 20-14 advantage. The Cougars were able to pull within two late in the half on an Anthony Gibson three-pointer (22-20), before Fox used a tip-in in the final seconds to for the 24-20 halftime score.
Fox finished the first half with 10 points for the College of New Jersey while junior Kyle Latorre (picutred left) tallied four points and six rebounds for Kean.
The Lions used two shots from behind the arc to take their first double-digit lead of the day with 17:59 to go and pushed that lead to as many as 18 points with 6:18 to go on a layup from Fox (52-34). Kean then surged down the stretch with a 14-2 over a five minute span to pull within six as senior Mike Shaughnessy hit a layup with 1:15 to go, putting the score at 54-48. Eight points from the charity stripe sealed the win for TCNJ, in the final 75 seconds.
Shaughnessy finished with 11 points for the Cougars in the loss, while teammate Frank Nock added eight points and eight rebounds.
Kean returns to action on Wednesday, December 5th when they host Rowan University at 8 p.m.
