Hamilton College's Kena Gilmour '20 poured in a game-high 27 points and the Continentals rallied late for an 88-81 win against The College of New Jersey Lions in the 2019 Drew University Rose City Tip-Off Classic at Baldwin Gymnasium on Saturday night.

Hamilton (1-0 overall) erased a deficit that reached as many as seven points midway through the second half and advanced to the tournament's championship game against the hosts at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 17. Drew (2-0) defeated SUNY Old Westbury 75-69 in Saturday's other game.

Gilmour shot 6 of 12 from the field including 5 of 8 from 3-point range and made all 10 of his attempts at the free-throw line. He also handed out three assists.

The Continentals finished with a 39-17 advantage in points off the bench and Patrick Mogan '23 was a big reason why. Mogan dropped in 19 points in 17 minutes and added three steals and a blocked shot in his first collegiate action. Nkosi Cooper '23 started at point guard in his Hamilton debut and recorded 10 points and three assists. Nick Osarenren '22 grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass, and dished out three assists. The Continentals shot 39.1 percent (9 of 23) from beyond the arc.

Randall Walko led TCNJ (1-1) with 24 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Travis Jocelyn registered 21 points and Ryan Jensen boasted a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. Jensen also blocked two shots. PJ Ringel was credited with four assists but fouled out after playing just 22 minutes.

The Lions led 55-48 after an old-fashioned 3-point play by Jocelyn with 12:29 left in the second half and 59-52 after two free throws by Jocelyn with 10:54 remaining. Hamilton responded with an 8-1 run and tied the score at 60. Mark Lutz '20 started the spurt with two free throws and, after another free throw by Jocelyn, Mogan drained both of his shots at the charity stripe.

Mogan then took over with a block on the defensive end and an offensive rebound and putback at the other. On TCNJ's next possession, Mogan poked the ball loose at the top of the key and Osarenren fed him for a layup that knotted the score at 60-all with 8:54 to go.

Neither team led by more than two points for the next five minutes until the Continentals essentially put the game away with a late 10-3 run. Walko drew the Lions even at 68-68 with two free throws with 5:22 left but Mogan put Hamilton in the lead for good on a layup with 4:15 remaining. Cooper found Mogan for a jumper and a 72-68 lead before a layup by Jocelyn cut TCNJ's deficit to two again. Two free throws by Gilmour and Cooper were sandwiched around one by Jocelyn, and Gilmour drained two more free throws for a 78-71 advantage with 1:03 remaining.

The Lions didn't get closer than four points in the final minute, and two free throws by Cooper with 18 seconds to go gave the Continentals their largest lead of 10 points at 86-76. Mogan scored 15 of his 19 points and Hamilton shot 92 percent (23-for-25) at the line in the final 20 minutes. Jocelyn scored 19 of TCNJ's 43 points after halftime.

The Lions held a 38-36 edge at the break. The largest lead for either team in the first half was seven points at 28-21 in the Continentals' favor after a jumper by Mogan with 8:27 left. There were 16 lead changes and nine ties for the entire contest.