PHILADELPHIA – The Thomas Jefferson University men's basketball team (10-3, 6-0 CACC) pulled out a 71-66 victory over visiting Holy Family on Tuesday night, upping the Rams' win streak to four.
 
GAMEPLAY
The teams were even at seven after the first five minutes before the Tigers recorded eight of the next 10 to go ahead by six (15-9). The Rams answered with a 9-0 run to take an 18-15 advantage. Deondre Bourne tallied five points and Bismark Nsiah added four. Holy Family came back to even the score at 19 but Jefferson followed with five straight points to make it 24-19. The Tigers cut the deficit to one (24-23) before the Rams pulled away again with eight of the next 10 for a 32-25 score with 5:13 to go. Bourne hit a pair of three-pointers in the stretch. Jefferson held the upper hand into halftime when it was 37-31.
 
HFU registered the opening five points of the second half to get within one (37-36). It was a one-point game again at 39-38 then the Rams created some space with an 8-0 surge. Erik Timko netted five points and Bourne hit another three. The Tigers rallied with a 10-2 run to trail by one (49-48). The teams went back and forth as it remained a one-possession game until Timko's layup at 8:32 made it 55-50 in favor of Jefferson. Timko drilled a triple at 6:06 to give the Rams a six-point cushion (62-56) but Holy Family responded with five points in a row to close the gap to one (62-61).
 
Darius Kinnel sank a huge three for Jefferson to restore a four-point margin (65-61) with 3:34 on the clock. After a Tigers layup, Bourne was fouled on a three-point shot and made all three buckets at the foul line to make it 68-63. However, Holy Family answered with a three-pointer to get within two again (68-66) at the 1:07 mark. After a miss by Jefferson, the Tigers were off the mark on a layup and the Rams got the rebound. Bourne went to the stripe and converted one of two free throws, giving Holy Family a chance down three (69-66). The Tigers got an open look at the potential tying basket from beyond the arc but it did not go down. Timko grabbed the board and made both shots at the line to ice the game.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Deondre Bourne: 29 points with five three-pointers, 4 assists, 2 rebounds
- Erik Timko: 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
- Bismark Nsiah: 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block
- Antonin Kemkeng: 6 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
 
JEFFERSON AS A TEAM
FG: 19-of-47 (40.4%)
3PT: 8-of-18 (44.4%)
FT: 25-of-31 (80.6%)
 
NOTES
- The Rams shot 54.2% (13-of-24) in the first half but just 26.1% (6-of-23) in the second period.
- It was the 1,133^rd win for Head Coach Herb Magee.
- Jefferson's four-game win streak is its longest of the season.
 
UP NEXT
The Rams head across town to take on Chestnut Hill on Thursday, January 20 at 6 p.m.