By Joseph Caruso
Sports Editor
The College’s No. 19 basketball team began New Jersey Athletic Conference play this week, opening with a victory over William Paterson 85-68, and suffering a loss on the road at Stockton, 64-80, respectively.
First year head coach Evan Elberg has had big shoes to fill after the departure of longtime coach Matt Goldsmith, but he has delivered on continuing the College’s recent success, and then some.
The Lions started the season 4-1, including a thriller overtime victory in the Greg Grant Tip-Off Tournament. Led by multiple All-NJAC caliber upperclassmen, the College’s hot start is no fluke, regardless of the young leadership on the sidelines.
The College hosted their first NJAC matchup in Packer Hall, welcoming William Paterson University for the opening conference game. The Lions would like to continue their NJAC dominance from a season ago, where they finished 12-6 in the conference during their 2024 campaign.
Senior Matt Solomon was the story of the matchup, dropping 20 points and a game-high 15 rebounds in a brilliant effort. His heroics allowed the Lions to open up a double-digit lead heading into the halftime locker room.
Another integral part of the Lions first half show was senior guard Jonathan Okocha, who caught fire burying four first-half three pointers on his way to a team-high 21 points. Okocha finished the game with five three pointers on just six attempts.
The Pioneers, who entered the matchup at 4-1, continued to battle in the second half, playing a pesky brand of basketball to keep the contest within 20, but the Lions continued to stiff arm William Paterson, and held strong for a 85-68 victory in their opening NJAC matchup.
Along with the two stars Okocha and Solomon, senior guard Nick Koch bolstered his incredible season, posting a statline of 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists. More importantly for Koch, he moved into tenth all time on the College’s all time scoring list, an impressive milestone for one of the best guards the College has ever seen.
Sitting 5-1 and atop the NJAC, the Lions traveled to Galloway to take on the Ospreys of Stockton on Wednesday. Coming into Wednesday, the Lions climbed the rankings all the way to No. 19 as a result of their win streak.
Stockton sat at just 1-3 heading into the matchup against the Lions, but were eager to play spoiler as they jumped out to a commanding 38-25 lead after the first half concluded.
It was an uncharacteristically poor showing from the Lions, shooting an abysmal 5-31 from beyond the arc. Koch did his best to carry the Lions in the scoring department, pouring in 24 points, and was helped by Okocha who had 16 of his own. However, those were the only two Lions who cracked double-digits, neither of which eclipsing 50 percent from the field, with Okocha hitting just four of 16 shots.
A season-worst effort saw the Lions shoot 32.4 percent from the floor, compared to a blistering 55.8 percent from the Ospreys. The shooting disparity was too much to overcome, as the Lions dropped their first NJAC match 80-64.
Despite the disappointing loss, this should be considered a minor speedbump in an otherwise extremely fruitful season for the College thus far, and with players like Solomon, Koch and Okocha, the Lions should be considered one of the best in the country. They will look to get back on track when they host Kean on Saturday, Dec. 6.
