By Joseph Caruso
Staff Writer
The College’s men's basketball team continued to roll this past week, outlasting Rowan University on the road and then handling New Jersey City University on Senior Day, now having won eight of their last nine since their loss against Montclair State University.
On Wednesday, Feb. 12, the Lions traveled to Glassboro to take on a middling Rowan team, which ranks sixth in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
Despite that, Rowan came out ready to play, jumping out to a quick 10-2 lead less than two minutes into the game and going up by as much as 11 in the first half. The Profs went into the locker room threatening the College’s winning streak as they were up 37-30.
Shooting 2-18 from three in the first half, the Lions would probably consider themselves lucky to be down by just seven points.
Steadily chipping away, the College took their first lead since the score was 2-0, with just nine minutes remaining in the second half thanks to junior Nick Koch, who scored 13 of his game-high 30 points in the second half. After more back-and-forth action, the Lions would eventually pull out the win over Rowan 77-72 to increase their win streak to four games.
Koch, who recently became the 26th player in program history to surpass 1,000 points, continues to show the same humility and selflessness that has led the College to their best regular season record in years.
“I couldn’t have done what I’ve done these past three seasons without my coaching staff and my teammates,” Koch said. “They push me to become a better version of myself every day.”
On Saturday, Feb. 15, the College returned home to host NJCU on Senior Day, looking to extend their winning streak.
Honoring the seniors, Coach Goldsmith started four seniors along with Koch, including giving seniors Thomas Menyhert and Shaun Johnson their first start of the season.
Similarly to the last game, it was a sluggish start for the Lions, who found themselves trailing 14-7 after a 9-2 run from the Gothic Knights. They did not waste much time, however, quickly responding with nine unanswered points of their own to regain the lead.
Scoring 19 of his 32 points in the first half, Koch propelled the College to a four-point lead heading into the break.
The Lions would not surrender their grip on the Gothic Knights in the second half, thanks to a stellar performance from junior Matthew Soloman, who scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds en route to an 87-72 Lions victory, marking it their fifth in a row.
Since a difficult loss to first-place Montclair State on Jan. 15, things have shifted in a completely different direction for the College, who have now won eight of their last nine games.
“The turning point for us has been all mental. Through the adversity, we learned to stay calm and trust the process,” Koch said. “By trusting the process, I mean with coach’s gameplans and our ability to become even better.”
Holding the longest winning streak in the NJAC, the College's confidence is sky-high heading into their regular season finale against Montclair State.
The Lions face off against Montclair State on Wednesday, Feb. 19 for a chance at the top seed in the NJAC tournament.
“The way we get revenge against Montclair is to trust Coach Goldsmith’s gameplan and be us.” Koch said. “When we are being us and doing what we do, nobody in the nation can stop us.”
