GLASSBORO, NJ – Josh Wright scored 19 points, Connor Dickerson had 18 and Damian Smith tallied 17 to lead the Rowan men’s basketball team to an 87-70 win over Kean (13-1; 6-1),
handing the visiting Cougars their first loss of the season and giving the Profs (11-3; 7-0 NJAC) sole possession of first place in the conference as the league’s only undefeated team in NJAC play. 
Wright tied his season-high with 19 points in 19 minutes off the bench as he connected on 6-of-8 field goal attempts, made two threes and had a block, a steal and an assist. Ja’Zere Noel had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Smith shot 6-for-10 from the field and Dickerson made 5-of-7 from the field while grabbing five rebounds and picking up two steals.
In a game that saw seven lead changes and nine ties, Rowan used a decisive 8-0 run midway through the second half to take the lead for good. While trailing, 53-52, the Profs got five points from Dickerson in that spurt, to take a 60-53 lead at 10:49. Rowan went up by double digits, 65-55, at 7:42 and was in control the rest of the way, with Kean only coming within an eight-point margin. The Profs took their biggest lead of the game, 81-61, on a jumper by Smith with 3:33remaining.
Rowan was up by nine, 20-11, at 12:11 of the first half before Kean went on a 17-6 run to take its first lead of the game, 28-26. The teams traded leads for the next few minutes and Kean pulled ahead, 41-36 and eventually held a 43-40 lead at halftime.
Rowan forced 17 Kean turnovers and held a 24-9 advantage in points scored off turnovers. The Profs also limited the Cougars to shooting 39.7 percent from the field while they converted 47 percent.
The Profs head on the road for their next two games, visiting Montclair State on Wednesday and to Rutgers-Newark on Saturday.
