By Joseph Caruso
Sports Editor
The College’s men’s basketball team continued its blistering stretch where they earned three victories this week over Stockton, Ramapo and Rutgers-Camden, improving their record to 16-5, as they boast a 11-3 record in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
On Wednesday, the Lions hosted the latter half of a white out double-header with the women's team, as they faced off against Stockton.
The College started off well, holding the Ospreys to just 26 points total in the first period, as they headed into the locker room up seven points, leading 33-26. All 33 first-half points were scored by seniors Nick Koch and Matt Solomon, along with junior David Alexandre, as they ended the half on a massive 12-0 run to vault them ahead.
However, the story of this game was the second half, where the game became a thriller to remember. Right out of the halftime locker room, Stockton came out swinging and quickly regained the lead, 46-42 capping off a huge run to put the pressure on the Lions.
The College responded with seven unanswered points of their own, trying to fend off Stockton down the stretch. After two hard fought halves, the College and Stockton earned an extra period of basketball.
In the final minutes of overtime, the College found themselves trailing 72-70 in the final 60 seconds, where Koch had the first of his many heroics on the night, tying the game at 72 with a layup with just eight seconds left on the game clock, forcing a second overtime period.
Trailing 82-81 in double overtime, the Lions possessed the ball with just seconds remaining. Koch found his spot beyond the three point line, and buried a game winning three pointer as the buzzer sounded — his sixth of the night, a career high to go along with 33 points, as the College defeated Stockton, 84-82.
“We know how to handle adversity,” Koch told The Signal. “You know, we miss a few free throws, miss a few boxouts, but I still have so much faith and trust in my teammates, and they have the faith and trust in me.”
Koch played a mind-boggling 49 minutes in the team's victory, while Soloman and Alexandre also logged more than 40 minutes on the night. Not to be overshadowed, Solomon put together an unbelievable night of his own, playing all 50 minutes and scoring 24 points while gobbling up 15 rebounds and dishing out six assists. Koch, Solomon and Alexandre combined for 72 of the 84 points in the grind it out win.
“Its the best environment I could possibly be around,” Koch said. “We knew who we still were through all this adversity, and it shows a lot, this team is something special”.
Riding high from their most exciting victory of the year, the Lions traveled to Ramapo to take on the Roadrunners in Mahwah on Saturday, Jan. 31.
In the first half, the College showed some leftover fatigue from their previous matchup, scoring just 24 points in the first 20 minutes and headed into the locker room trailing by four points.
Out of the break, the Lions came out blistering and didn’t look back. Shooting nearly 60% from the field in the final half, the Lions put up 57 points on the way to a big victory, defeating Ramapo for their fourth straight win, 85-59.
Koch picked up right where he left off, making 27 points feel routine on a hyper efficient nine for 11 from the field and making three of his four three point attempts. Along with Koch, it was another strong game for Solomon who chipped in an easy 15 points and ten rebound double-double.
On Feb. 4, the Lions were back in Packer Hall hosting Rutgers-Camden looking for their sixth straight win.
In a steady game, the College found themselves trailing early on in the game, but it didn’t last long, as they went into the halftime locker room leading 34-27. In the second half, it was the Koch show again, as the star guard scored 21 of his game high 30 points in the second period propelling the Lions to victory. He also played all 40 minutes.
Solomon contributed another double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds, along with some stellar defense for the duration of the game, as the College defeated Rutgers-Camden 79-68, marking their sixth straight win.
Before they can compete for the NJAC Championship again, the College still has four games remaining in the regular season, the next one is Saturday, Feb.7, against Rutgers-Newark.
