This time the TCNJ men’s basketball team turned the tables at the buzzer. After losing one possession heartbreakers at the horn in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament each of the last two seasons, Nick Koch flipped the script to make sure his spectacular senior season has at least one more game. Koch drilled a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds to give the Lions a dramatic, 74-73, victory over Johns Hopkins on Friday evening in a first-round matchup played on the campus of Randolph-Macon in Ashland, Va. Koch finished with 24 points, the final three of which, on a stepback trey, gave TCNJ (22-6) its only lead of the second half. Nick Koch! 74-73 @tcnjlions ….#d3hoops pic.twitter.com/PAd7uNMWDg — HanoverSports (from RVA Sports Network) (@hanoversports) March 6, 2026 David Alexandre, the hero of the NJAC final, continued his terrific postseason run by netting 23 points, one shy of the career high he set in that NJAC decider. Matthew Solomon added nine points and 11 rebounds even though he was limited to 28 minutes because of foul trouble. Solomon connected on 3-pointer with 2:12 remaining that cut the deficit to 71-69. TCNJ struggled to get stops in the second half — Johns Hopkins was shooting over 60% in the half — until stringing together four in a row and leveling it up at 71-all on Koch’s layup with 45 seconds to go. The Blue Jays (20-8) answered by taking the lead back on Wyatt Eglinton Manner’s floater with 24 seconds left. Lions coach Evan Elberg put the ball in the hands of the program’s second all-time leading scorer. He did as he’s done all season and delivered his team a first NCAA Tournament victory in six seasons. TCNJ will face the winner of the game between host Randolph-Macon and NC Wesleyan on Saturday. ...read more read less