PHILADELPHIA – The Thomas Jefferson University men's basketball team (8-6, 2-2) held the Lions to 26 first half points while scoring 43 during the first 20 minutes of play, leading to the Rams earning a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) win over Georgian Court University (2-12, 0-3) 76-64 in Tuesday evening competition.
 
WHAT HAPPENED
The Lions went ahead 8-5 from two Justin Harper shots. The Rams would get up 11-10 as Bismark Nsiah and Antonin Kemkeng both scored in the paint while Hakim Byrd hit a pair of free throws. Clint Wright Jr. hit a three to put Georgian Court ahead once more while Cameron Edmonds made his free throws. After the Lions went up 20-16 with 12:48 to go, the Rams responded with a 10-0 run as Erik Timko scored eight of his team leading 21 points on the day. Ashton Miller made his own three after the Lions made their own basket, helping Miller to score 13 points off the bench. Jefferson would see more shots go from beyond the arc, as Byrd and Ahmed Barba-Bey each made their own three to make it 37-24 for the Rams with 3:13 to go. Miller would make another basket and deliver a pass for Nsiah to land his dunk in the net as the Rams went into the break up 43-26.
 
Georgian Court would not go away easily, outscoring the Rams 38-33 in the second half. The Lions would have a 16-4 run to start the second half, with Wright Jr. and Justin Harper having four points apiece during that run. Nsiah would make a three to help keep a cushion for the Rams during that stretch. Georgian Court would get within five points with 12:28 to go, but Barba-Bey would make his shot from beyond the arc while Kemkeng made their layup to get it back to a double-digit lead. Harper would hit a three while Edmonds earned and an-one to have it 57-50 in the game. The Rams would keep ahold of their lead, not allowing the Lions to get within nine points as Jefferson walked away with a 76-64 win.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Erik Timko: 21 points on 5-of-10 shooting (3-5 3PT),8-8 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
Ahmed Barba-Bey: 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting (3-6 3PT), 3 rebounds
Ashton Miller: 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting (2-3 3PT), 5 rebounds, 2 steals
Antonin Kemkeng: 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting, 4-5 FT, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks
Bismark Nsiah: 9 points on 3-of-8 shooting, 4 rebounds, 6 blocks
 
UP NEXT
Jefferson will take a break as they will finish their home stretch on Sunday, January 14 when they host Caldwell University in a CACC Championship rematch at 4 p.m.