College Hoops Summary–Eastern @ TCNJ–December 8, 2011

Hot Shooting Eastern Rallies To Defeat TCNJ, 94-86

EWING, NJ–On Thursday night, GMC Hoops traveled out to Mercer County to see some more Division III college hoops action between Eastern University and The College of New Jersey.  For former South Brunswick standout, Martin Soaries, it was a homecoming of sorts.  Another former GMC player in this contest was Billy Lester of Middlesex, who now plays at TCNJ.  Lester has worked very hard to be on the roster at TCNJ.

After graduating Middlesex back in 2008, Lester went to Raritan Valley Community College with fellow Blue Jay, John Stockton.  After spending two years at RVCC, Lester moved on to TCNJ, where he made the roster last year.  Teaming up with Lester on the Lions roster is former Watchung Hills standout, Kyle Rawson, who played very well for TCNJ in a loss to Centenary College early in the season last year.  The Lions compete in the NJAC while Eastern plays in the Freedom Conference of the MAC.  Eastern entered the game at 5-2 while TCNJ came in at 3-2.

The game didn’t start off too well for the Lions.  Eastern opened the game with the first seven points.  Alex Nelson (20 points and 7 rebounds) scored the first four with two free throws in the first minute of the contest, and then a short jumper at the 18:24 mark for a 4-0 lead.  The Eagles then cashed in on several offensive rebounds with a three pointer at the 18 minute mark that compelled TCNJ head coach, Kelly Williams to call for time with the Lions down 7-0.  The home team didn’t get on the board until Matthew Rista (16 points and 2 rebounds) scored at the 16:55 mark.  Jason Chalmers (5 points, a rebound, and a steal) then added a follow before Soaries (9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals) got his first points of the game on a layup that gave his Eagles a 9-4 lead at the 16:10 mark.

Over the next three minutes, TCNJ rallied with an 8-4 spurt that was highlighted by a Brandon Johnson steal of Soaries for a layup.  The only points for Eastern came from Soaries on a foul line jumper, and Nelson on a score underneath.  Trailing 13-12 with 13:06 to go, TCNJ would eventually tie the game.  After an Eastern score, Alex Fox drained a three pointer at the 12:23 mark for a 15-15 tie as the Eagles called for time.  Following the timeout, the Lions got a steal in front of Eastern’s bench, but failed to capitalize as Eastern eventually got the ball back on an alternate possession. The Eagles then went on a 5-1 run that included another score by Nelson for a 20-16 lead.

Over the next 4:30 though, TCNJ showed resiliency.  The Lions embarked on an 11-2 tear while drawing a charge on Soaries, who then picked up his third personal foul soon afterward.  Albert Matlock (8 points and an assist) capped the run with two free throws at the 5:30 mark of the first half for a 27-22 lead.  Despite having Soaries on the bench, the Eagles hung tough with four of the next six points including a score by Michael Donatoni (24 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and a steal) and a putback by Donald Kaiser to draw within three at 29-26 with 4:15 left in the opening half.  Following a timeout, Rista hit a three pointer at the 3:47 mark for a 32-26 TCNJ lead.  The Point Pleasant native then hit a floater at the 2:58 mark for a 34-26 lead, and Matlock capped a 21-14 surge over a span of 7:30 for a 37-26 lead at the 2:30 mark when Eastern called for time.

Following the stoppage, the Eagles finished the first half strong with an 11-3 tear including a three pointer in the waning moments of the half to close to within three at 40-37 going into the intermission.  Soaries scored 6 points for Eastern in the half while teammate Nelson led the Eagles with 10 points.  Matlock had 8 points for the Lions while Rista also added 7 points.  After trailing 7-0 at the start of the game, TCNJ went on a 37-19 surge over a span of 15:30 to take control of the game going into halftime.  The momentum gained by Eastern at the end of the first half took a blow at the start of the second half when Soaries picked up his fourth foul, and had to go back to the bench with 19:40 left in the game.

The Lions seemed to be in control with a 7-2 run to start the half for a 47-41 lead with about 17 minutes left, but Eastern scratched and clawed its way back through hard work and solid defense to spark a 9-2 tear over a span of 3:13 to take a 50-49 lead on a jumper by Mitchell Singer (8 points, 6 rebounds, an assist, and a steal).  TCNJ took the lead back on a score by Rista, but Colin Whipple (16 points, 4 assists, a rebound, and a block) put the Eagles back on top at 52-51 with a jumper at the 13:22 mark.  Whipple then made one of two from the line with 12:24 left for a 53-52 lead.  Eastern eventually got the ball back, and into the hands of Nelson for a jumper and a 55-52 lead with 12 minutes to go.  Whipple followed up by drawing another foul for one of two at the line, and a 56-52 lead with 11:43 left.

Following a score by TCNJ, Singer came up with a layup, and Donatoni sank a jumper for a 60-54 lead as the Lions called for time with 10:35 remaining.  Anthony Parenti (9 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists) added a floater before Donatoni sank a triple from the left wing, and Whipple got a kind bounce on a score at the 8:55 mark for a 67-54 lead as TCNJ called for time again.  The Eagles had put together a 26-7 surge over a span of about eight minutes to take command of the contest.  On the ropes, the Lions showed some resiliency with a 10-2 spurt over the next 2:37 including two free throws by Rista, and a layup by Kyle Cancillieri (20 points, 11 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists, and 2 blocks) to cap the run, and narrow the deficit to 69-64.

After an Eastern timeout, Parenti and Soaries came up with scores to give the Eagles breathing room at 73-64 with 5:30 to go.  The visitors from Pennsylvania appeared to have the game wrapped up with Donatoni and Nelson adding scores to cap a 16-5 tear to take an 85-69 lead with 2:02 left.  Following a TCNJ timeout, the Lions put on some fullcourt pressure, and produced turnovers that led to a three point play by Emmanuel Matlock, and a couple two handed jams by Cancillieri to narrow the deficit to 85-76 with 1:15 remaining.   However, the Lions were unable to get any closer as Eastern went on to win 94-86.  

Soaries ended up with 9 points before fouling out with 32.7 seconds remaining.  Despite his struggles on the floor in this game, the South Brunswick HS alum remained upbeat.  He was leading the cheers from the bench during Eastern’s second half surge that decided the game, and he didn’t complain when he had to leave the game. Eastern shot 74 percent from the floor in the second half. The Eagles outscored the Lions by a margin of 59-32 to turn an 11 point late first half deficit into a 16 point lead late in the game. See the article on the game as well as stats and play-by-play courtesy of the TCNJ athletic department web site.