TCNJ’s ambidextrous Higgins proving difficult to stop

Scouting reports will always detail which hand a player favors into the defensive game plan.

Pat Higgins has been puzzling defensive schemes for years.

You see, The College of New Jersey sophomore is ambidextrous.

“It came naturally,” stated Higgins. “I actually do everything with my left hand besides shoot a basketball. I think it gives me an advantage being equally comfortable shooting or dribbling with either hand on the court. I would even say I am more comfortable around the rim with my left hand.”

The former Pennington standout has been very comfortable wearing Blue and Gold, too.

Higgins started his collegiate career at Daemen University, but made the move to the Lions prior to this season.

“The number one thing for me during the transfer process was being somewhere closer to home and where I felt comfortable outside of basketball,” said Higgins. “Besides that, the history of the basketball team at TCNJ and how our coaches run the program here made the decision really easy for me.”

It has been a smooth transition on the basketball court as Higgins, who has started all 22 games, is averaging 12.1 points and is second in assists.

“Pat has been a tremendous addition to our program,” said TCNJ coach Matt Goldsmith. “Obviously, he has played a ton of minutes and has been putting up good numbers but even better, he is an extremely hard worker, has fit right in with his teammates and has become a leader on the court. He is playing some great basketball and I look forward to seeing more of it.”

The Lions (8-14, 7-8 NJAC), with three regular season games left, are pretty much entrenched in fifth place and averting an utter disaster will qualify for the conference playoffs.

Last Saturday’s win over William Paterson did a lot to seal a solid future for TCNJ as it earned the win in the final minutes after being tied at 73-all. The Lions went on to win, 84-77.

“I think that it was another example of us learning to execute and close out close games down the stretch, which is something we struggled with early on in the year,” said Higgins. “We understand that basketball is a game of runs and Paterson did a good job of getting themselves back into the game, but we didn’t flinch or splinter. There was zero sense of panic or nervousness, we just executed and stuck to our game plan and as long as we do that then we think we can be a dangerous team.”

Higgins showed just how dangerous, scoring a career high 21 points in the win. His performance this past week earned him Player of the Week honors from the conference. He averaged 19 points and six assists in two games.

“Playing well individually in wins is always a good feeling,” declared Higgins. “I actually thought

I finished with 19 until a teammate of mine congratulated me in the locker room after the game.”

After opening the season with a 2-2 mark, the Lions dropped nine straight games to fall to 2-11, but they put together a five-game winning streak and have gone 6-3 since the skid.

They finish with always-tough Stockton (19-3, 13-2) on the road, Ramapo (9-13, 5-10) at home and at Rutgers-Newark (6-16, 4-11).

“Going into the conference tournament we know everyone starts 0-0,” said Higgins. “So, we plan to go in with a fresh mindset but at the same time we aren’t going to forget the strides we have taken as a team. We are confident that we will be playing our best basketball of the year when it matters most.”