ASHLAND, Va. – Nick Koch and the TCNJ men's basketball team saw their season come to an end in heartbreaking fashion each of the last two seasons. For the Lions' senior star, the third time was certainly the charm.
 
Koch extended his legendary career in legendary fashion, swishing a step-back 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to hand the Lions a pulse-pounding 74-73 victory over Johns Hopkins in an epic NCAA Tournament opener on Friday night at Randolph-Macon. The shot, sure to be memorialized in program lore forever, sent TCNJ (22-6) to its first victory in the Big Dance since 2020 – on the same floor – and booked a second-round showdown with the winner of the nightcap between the host and 4^th-ranked Yellow Jackets and N.C. Wesleyan.
 
Koch finished with a team-high 24 points, while David Alexandre chipped in 21 critical markers and Solomon paired 13 points with nine rebounds.
 
For much of a rough-and-tumble tussle with the physical Blue Jays (20-8), it appeared a third consecutive narrow exit in the first round was in the offing. Until Koch's dagger, JHU never trailed in the second half, leading by eight with under five minutes to go and by seven at the under-4 media timeout. But the Lions had the best player on the floor, and Koch won it with a remarkable display of late-game wizardry.
 
JHU threatened to pull away around the 8-minute mark, going up by seven (58-51) on a 3-pointer, but Koch had no plans to go out quietly, connecting on a critical step-back trey of his own and countering a Blue Jay bucket with one of his own in transition as the Lions went into the penultimate media timeout trailing 62-56.
 
Down 69-61 at the 5-minute mark after a JHU 3, Alexandre converted a three-point play on an assist from Okocha. Following a Tanti Felli slam, Solomon made both ends of a crucial one-and-one to get within 71-66 with 3:57 to go.
 
The Lions forced a shot-clock violation on the defensive end, and Solomon swished a straight-on 3-pointer to cut the JHU lead to 71-69 just shy of the 2-minute mark.
 
Koch tied it at 71 with another driving bucket, only for Wyatt Eglinton Manner to beat the shot clock with a go-ahead runner with 11.8 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Koch lost his footing but somehow managed to slip his defender and swish a step-back 3 from the left wing with 1.1 ticks to play.  
 
JHU called timeout, but the Blue Jays' desperation inbounds heave was intercepted by Khalid Bakare, and the Lions could finally celebrate a March Madness breakthrough.
 
The victory marked a watershed moment for the Lions, the program's second since the days of Greg Grant. It also filled in the last remaining hole in the resumes of Koch and Solomon, two of the most accomplished players in the history of the program.
 
The lead changed hands three times before the first media timeout, the Lions getting the better of the early going as Koch beat his man off the dribble for a bucket before finding a cutting Anthony Milligan for a finish and a 7-4 lead at the under-16 stoppage.
 
The run continued out of the break as David Alexandre buried a difficult step-back mid-range shot and Milligan leaked ahead of the pack for a transition lay-up and an 11-4 advantage before the Blue Jays finally ended a scoring drought that lasted longer than five minutes.
 
After four straight Hopkins points, Milligan again found space inside to finish a feed from Khalid Bakare, giving the senior six quick points in just five minutes of action.
 
After Bakare rattled home a foul-line jumper, Koch jumped into the passing lane for a steal and took it the other way for an acrobatic finish to match the biggest advantage of the half at 19-12 just past the midway point of the half. Solomon added to it with a bucket on a big-to-big insert from Bakare, putting the Blue Jays in a nine-point hole.
 
Lucas Dipasupil gave the Lions their first double-digit cushion with a step-back jumper at the right elbow, making it 23-13 after a JHU free throw.
 
After JHU scored six consecutive points to knock the TCNJ lead down to four, Khalid Bakare grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds on a possession that ultimately ended in a corner 3-pointer from Alexandre, a crucial bucket to stop a Blue Jay mini-run and restore some separation at 26-19 with under six to play in the period.
 
The Blue Jays finally hit their first 3-pointer after nine straight misfires, pulling even at 26 on a triple by Wyatt Eglinton Manner at the 2:22 mark, and took their first lead since 4-3 on a Tanti Felli hook shot out of a timeout.
 
After a Felli free throw, Koch ended a nearly five-minute dry spell with a euro-step lay-in, but JHU scored on its last two trips around a free throw by Jonathan Okocha to take a 33-29 lead into halftime.
 
Solomon went to the bench with his second foul with three minutes to play in the first half but came out energized after the break, knocking down a pair of hook shots before Okocha answered a Blue Jay trey with one of his own to make it 38-36 as both sides came out red-hot.
 
TCNJ trailed 42-38 after a pair of technical free throws by JHU, but Solomon and Koch each sank a pair at the stripe to pull even with 14:51 to go.
 
Down five after another JHU mini-run, Alexandre brought the Lions back level with a back-door lay-in from Solomon and a step-back 3 from the top of the arc, making it 48-all with 11:32 remaining.
 
The Blue Jays inched back in front with five straight points, but Bakare banked in a basket off a nice sequence of post moves to keep the blue and gold in striking distance. But JHU continued to keep the Lions at arm's length, separating further around the 5-minute mark. Thanks to Koch, it wasn't enough, and TCNJ is still dancing.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• TCNJ shot 45.9 percent from the field (28-for-61), 31.8 percent from 3-point range (7-for-22), and 64.7 percent at the free-throw line (11-for-17)
• Johns Hopkins finished 51.7 percent from the field (31-for-60), 25.0 percent from 3-point range (4-for-16), and 53.8 percent at the line (7-for-13)
• JHU dominated the glass (40-28) and the paint (52-34), but committed 13 turnovers to just seven for the Lions and missed nearly half of their free-throw attempts

FOR THE FOES

• Eglinton Manner matched Koch for the game high with 24 points and pulled down 11 rebounds
• Felli finished with 16 points
• Logan Feller (12) and Nick Klaiber (11) also hit double digits

STANDOUT LIONS

• Koch had to work for everything he got, finishing 9-of-25 from the field
• Alexandre was an efficient 8-of-13 from the floor and grabbed four rebounds
• Solomon battled foul trouble to finish just shy of a double-double in 27 minutes of action
• Milligan had six off the bench, while Bakare grabbed seven boards to go with four points

NOTES

• This was the first all-time meeting between the programs
• The Lions' victory is their first in the NCAA Tournament since an 89-73 defeat of Marietta on the same floor, six years ago to the day

UP NEXT

• TCNJ will match up with the high-powered Yellow Jackets or N.C. Wesleyan for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen on Saturday, with tip set for 6:45 p.m.