VIRIGINIA BEACH, Va. (11/9/24) – Justin Morton finished with 12 points as the Kean University men's basketball team fell to Ripon College, 55-47 in the consolation game of the TowneBank Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Virginia Wesleyan University on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED!!!

• Morton tallied seven points in a low scoring first half that saw Kean hold a 21-19 lead into the locker room.
• Both sides struggled to make shots in the opening stanza as the lead never expanded to larger than five.
• Brandon Upshaw and D.J. Alicea notched back-to-back buckets as Kean held a 21-15 lead with 51 seconds remaining.
• Luke Meinholz recorded four points in the final 30 seconds to cut the Cougars lead down to two points.
• After trading baskets to open the second half, Kean attempted to pull away with a 7-0 run that gave the Cougars their largest lead of the half at 36-27.
• Morton connected on a triple, while Trey Harts went 4-for-4 from the line during the mini run.
• Ripon responded with a 28-12 run to close out the game, including a 19-4 run over the final 4:47.

INSIDE THE BOX

• Alicea totaled nine points.
• Harts finished with nine points and nine rebounds.
• Christian Garcia pulled down 10 boards.

UP NEXT

• Kean travels to Brooklyn on Wednesday.