PHILADELPHIA – The Thomas Jefferson University men's basketball team (19-8, 11-4) outscored the Lightning in both halves, pushing the pace and eventually walking away from the contest with sole leadership in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) South Division with a over Goldey Beacom College (15-12, 10-5) in Wednesday evening action.
 
WHAT HAPPENED
An even back-and-forth from both teams, Goldey-Beacom, after trailing 13-12, went on a 16-6 run behind Damani Thomas hitting three jump shots from beyond the arc to put the Lightning ahead 29-16. The Rams cutting into the lead, seeing Ashton Miller making three pointers and Justin Hawkins converting on layups. Hakim Byrd went to the line to make two free throws. Hawkins received an offensive rebound, dishing it out to Byrd to deliver a three pointer and make the game only one point between both teams.
 
After Hawkins made a pair of free throws, the Lightning hit a layup to put it back at three points. Erik Timko made a three, tying it all at 40-40. Timko then hit another shot from beyond the arc, giving the Rams the lead. Thomas answered with his own three pointer for Goldey-Beacom, but Jefferson began to roll into groove with eight straight points behind Bsimark Nsiah, Farouk Kaba, Miller, and Hawkins as the Rams went into halftime up 51-45. Timko lead the way with 15 points in the first half, going 5-of-7 on the floor and a perfect 3-3 from three. Byrd was behind with 13 points while Hawkins put up 10. Thomas earned 17 points for Goldey-Beacom in the period, shooting 5-8 from beyond the arc and 6-of-9 on the floor.
 
Jefferson entered the second half still hitting their marks on shots, with Timko and Byrd hitting three pointers with Nsiah slamming a putback shot down. The Rams would not stop their momentum as Ahmed Barba-Bey made a and-one play and Hawkins put down a layup to get the Rams up by 15 just five minutes into the second half.
 
Caleb Bates made a three pointer while teammate Ayshion Centeno put up a layup to cut Jefferson's lead to 11. Miller and Byrd answer with their own layups. Nsiah puts a statement down with a dunk to make it 75-60 halfway through the contest. Barba-Bey put up an and-one to help Jefferson keep their lead to double digits, going up 85-66. He would continue his scoring barrage, hitting another three-pointer. Timko made his way to the paint, cutting through the defense with a decisive layup that carried the Rams to a 102-89 win.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Erik Timko: 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting (5-7 3PT), 2 assists, 2 rebounds
Hakim Byrd: 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting (4-7 3PT), 4-4 FT, 4 assists
Ahmed Barba-Bey: 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting, 4-4 FT, 8 rebounds, 8 assists
Bismark Nsiah: 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting, 7 rebounds, 3 steals
Justin Hawkins: 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, 10 rebounds
 
UP NEXT
Claiming first place in the CACC South, the Rams will look to conclude their regular season on a high note as they put up their seven game winning streak when they take on CACC South rival Holy Family University on Saturday, March 2 at 3 p.m.