Rowan men’s basketball put together a strong effort in Esbjornson Gymnasium on Wednesday, Feb. 12, but it wasn’t enough as they fell to The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) Lions in a nail-biter, 77-72.

The Profs’ defense came to play in the first half, as the Lions’ offense struggled to find a way to get a groove going early on, especially from beyond-the-arc, at one point shooting 2-for-18 from three. Khalif Meares didn’t light the world up in the box score offensively, but his presence was felt greatly on defense, with four steals alone in the first 10 minutes of the first half. 

The defensive performance did not mirror the way they played in their first meeting against the Lions, as the Profs were feasted on by the Lions 100-75 in that game.

“They shot it extremely well last time we played them,” said head coach Eric Brennan. “The first half they were 2-for-18 from three, they’re a big three-point shooting team. I think the 1-3-1 threw them off because we didn’t do it at all the first time. I think that was too our advantage, caught them by surprise.”

Rowan found themselves up throughout most of the game but couldn’t find a way to capitalize and keep the Lions out of the game indefinitely, as they began to find a groove near the end of the first half and continued to claw their way back into the game. Nick Koch led the way for the Lions with an impressive stat-line of 30 points, six assists, and five rebounds.

It was a scrappy second half and it wasn’t until there was 2:36 left in the game that the Lions were able to regain the lead. Rowan failed to execute during crucial late-game scenarios, with missed free throws and untimely turnovers allowing the Lions to edge past the Profs in a game where if Rowan came out on top, they would’ve secured a spot in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) playoffs. 

“They hit timely shots down the stretch, and we couldn’t convert certain plays. That’s what the game comes down to at the end,” said Taz Cantey.

“Another game where we led for the majority of the game, where we can’t close it out, and as a coach, I look at what shots we got offensively down the stretch,” said Brennan. “I thought we got some good ones against TCNJ tonight with Khalif getting downhill attacking the basket, a whistle or two goes your way, it goes a little different.”

Cantey and Tyrese Myrick led the Profs in scoring on the evening with 17 points each. 

“I tell Taz all the time, the same thing I tell myself, keep playing, keep playing, eventually it’s gonna click. And it was one of the games where it was clicking,” said Myrick.

Rowan still controls its destiny heading into the final two games of the season, so it’s important for the team to understand there is no time to think about what happened tonight, but instead what comes next.

“I told them you gotta get over it, like right now,” said Brennan. “You got two games left in your season. You can either end the season now, because you’re gonna let it fester ’til Thursday and Friday, or you’re gonna put it where it’s at. It sucks, it’s a loss, but it’s not failure. Failure will be if we don’t make the playoffs, or we don’t make a run.”

“Next game mentality,” said Myrick. “We still got a chance to do something special, so it’s never over.”

Rowan stays home at Esby Gym this Saturday for a pivotal matchup with Rutgers-Newark on Senior Day, before ending the regular season in Galloway with a matchup against the Stockton Ospreys in what could be a win or go home showdown, next Wednesday, Feb. 19.

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