When The College of New Jersey men’s basketball team was selected as the preseason favorite in the NJAC it seemed like it might be an easy ride. It’s been a little bumpy in spots, but after two very nice wins it would appear the Lions are back in the title chase. Coming off wins over New Jersey City and William Paterson, TCNJ (13-4, 6-4 NJAC) is ready to exact a little revenge when Kean (9-8, 7-3 NJAC) visits Packer Hall on Saturday at 3 p.m. in a critical contest. Kean is now one of four teams tied for first in the NJAC with Ramapo (13-4, 7-3), Montclair State (12-5, 7-3) and Stockton (12-5, 7-3). The Lions are a game behind those four and tied with New Jersey City (11-6, 6-4) and Rowan (9-8, 6-4). Only the top six make the NJAC playoffs. The Cougars defeated TCNJ earlier this season, 82-77, when the Lions squandered an 11-point halftime lead. Kean has won five of the last seven meetings. “Every game in the NJAC is tough,’’ said TCNJ coach Matt Goldsmith. “One game at a time. You cannot look past anyone.’’ After a loss to Montclair State, the Lions have shown a lot of resolve to finish the season strong. “I thought we had tremendous grit and resilience throughout,’’ said Goldsmith, of the Lions recent play. “Due to some things our rotations were different than normal and our guys responded beautifully.’’ One of the young Lions wo has really responded recently has been sophomore David Alexandre. It started with the win over Rutgers-Newark when Alexandre had a career high 24 points and a career high eight rebounds. He is now averaging 11.1 points and becoming stronger and more confident each time out. “David has been tremendous over the last few,’’ said Goldsmith. “He has been extremely steady on the floor as well as with his voice in the locker room. It has been fun watching him blossom into a leader on and off the court.’’ Nick Koch leads TCNJ with a 20.4 scoring average, which is the third best in the conference and Koch is second in the NJAC in assists with 4.6 per game. Matt Okorie scores at a 13.5 clip, Matt Solomon, who has 21 career double-doubles, leads in rebounds with 9.1 a game. Kean is led by DJ Alicea with 16.3 points and Justin Morton adds 14.1. The Lions have just four seniors, along with a grad student, four juniors, six sophomores and three freshman while those in the rotation gained some valuable experience in TCNJ’s run to the NJAC title last year, it’s still a young team. One of the more experienced is Jack Vreeswyk, the grad student. The first one off the bench, Vreeswyk has been sensational, averaging 11.9 points and shooting around 40% from beyond the arc. It’s not just points, it’s the leadership, it poise and the ability to score a big basket just when the Lions need one. “Jack has been exactly what we needed this year,’’ praised Goldsmith. “He is a fifth year and is playing like one. We are lucky he decided to return for an extra year.’’ Goldsmith knows the way the standings are right now in the NJAC, it’s anybody’s to win. “The standings are a giant jumble,’’ said Goldsmith. “We need to control what we can and focus on one game at a time. That is all that matters.’’ It should be an interesting seven games to the finish line.