COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's basketball team were unable to overcome a first half deficit eventually falling The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), 97-71, on Saturday afternoon from Helfferich Hall.
 

With the loss, Ursinus falls to 3-2 overall while the Lions remain unbeaten with a perfect 5-0 record. Senior guard Trevor Wall paced the Bears lineup with 18 points and six rebounds behind shooting 8-of-20 from the field. Junior Mo Toure added 10 points, a team-high seven rebounds, and an assist. For TCNJ, five players finished in double figures with Nick Koch leading the way with 20 points, seven assists, and five rebounds. David Alexandre collected 18 points while Matthew Okorie recorded 14 points in just 13 minutes of action.

 
TCNJ opened the contest on a 7-2 run before the Bears battled back with nine of the next 12 points and held a 11-10 advantage with 15:42 remaining in the first half. During the stretch, Wall tallied five straight points behind a layup and three-pointer, while an offensive rebound and putback from Toure gave the Bears a one-point lead. Each team traded baskets over the next three minutes of play, until junior Nick Nocito connected on a triple to give Ursinus a 20-18 lead at the 12:45-mark. TCNJ quickly responded with a 10-0 run to regain a 28-10 advantage at the halfway point of the first half. The Lions connected on back-to-back three pointers, before a jump shot from sophomore Luke Nieman cut the Bears deficit to 34-24. TCNJ grabbed the momentum over the next seven minutes of play as a 16-5 run and controlled a 50-29 lead with 3:10 remaining in the opening stanza. Wall and senior Luke Trotta each connected on shots over the remainder of the first half, but Ursinus entered halftime trailing 53-33.

 
Okorie opened the second half with the first four points of the second, before Ursinus responded when Neiman found Grubbs for a layup at the 18:47-mark. Each team traded baskets until a TCNJ 12-2 run increased the Lions lead to 71-41 with 13:57 remaining. Later in the period, Toure and Wall each added consecutive baskets for the Bears, but Ursinus couldn't overcome the large deficit eventually falling to the Lions, 97-71.

 
TCNJ shot 48.7% (37-of-76) from the field, 32.4% (12-of-37) from three-point range, and 68.8% (11-of-16) at the free throw line. Meanwhile, Ursinus was held to their season low 39.7% field goal percentage and shot 17.9% (5-of-28) from deep. The Lions held a 21-6 advantage in second chance points and created 16 points off eight turnovers from the Bears.

 
The Bears return to action on Monday, December 2nd as they host Goucher College for a 7:30 p.m. start from Helfferich Hall.