MARIETTA, Ohio - Arcadia didn't look like a team making its first NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament appearance.

In what some may call an upset, the Knights (23-5) built an 18-point first half lead and rolled to an 80-60 victory over New Jersey City University in the first round at Marietta College's Ban Johnson Arena Friday night.

"I'm not surprised by how focused our guys were," said Arcadia coach Justin Scott. "Our rotation is six seniors … We have veterans who have played in a lot of big games. They may not have been NCAA games, but they were big games. Our attention to detail has been tremendous all season. Did I think it would be a 20-point win? No way."

Arcadia never trailed in the game as senior forward Evan Slone made a layup 40 seconds into the game, and slowly — and then in a sudden burst later in the first half — the Knights built a double-digit led with 12:01 to play in the first half.

The Gothic Knights (20-8) rallied and cut the lead to six with 6:22 to play, but Arcadia closed the half on a 13-4 run that included four points from senior guard Josh Scott.

"All year long we've just tried to lock in on defense," said Scott, who finished with a game-high 26 points to go with five rebounds. "We want to know where to be on every play."

Arcadia scored 20 points on turnovers, but the strong defense stifled NJCU's potent offense. The Gothic Knights entered the NCAA Tournament averaging 79.3 points a game, but they shot a dismal 31.9 percent from the field on 23-of-72 shooting.

"We shot (19.4) percent in the first half. It's very difficult to win in the NCAA tournament when you shoot 19 percent and they shoot 55 percent," NJCU coach Marc Brown said. "You're not going to beat many teams when they 60 percent in a game."

NJCU came out strong to start the second half as it cut Arcadia's lead to 11 on a Lavrone Green layup with 12:36 to play. After Arcadia reestablished a 15-point lead following a Slone layup, The Gothic Knights went on a 7-2 run and trailed 59-49 with 6:21 to play.

However, NJCU could not cut the deficit to less than 10 points.

"It goes back to the experience," Scott said. "When they were making their push, and we called a timeout, I just reminded the guys to be composed."

The Gothic Knights were getting tired and getting into foul trouble.

"We just didn't do enough," said Sam Toney, who led NJCU with 19 points and 10 rebounds. "We need to be playing well at this time of year, but it seems like we kind of go away from what's gotten us this far."

Arcadia played the way it has all season, including another strong performance from Slone. He had 15 points and four rebounds.

"I was just trying to stay true to myself," he said. "I don't try to do too much. I just try to go with the flow."

His coach thought his 6-foot-6 forward was being a bit modest, especially considering he had to pick up a bigger role when all-conference performer Phil Pierfy got into foul trouble.

"Evan led our conference in field goal percentage," Scott said. "He knows his way around the basket."

The Knights will play the winner of Marietta at 7 p.m. Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

"We're happy to be here, but not just happy to be here," Slone said. "We know this is our last shot (for the seniors), and I wanted to make as many special memories as I could. This is something I'm going to remember for the rest of my life."

Yuri Brutus had 12 points and six rebounds for NJCU, while James Julius added 10 points.

"Lack of execution. It seems like when we get on the big stage we look to play hero ball," Julius said. "But this is real family. This was a perfect fit for me. I know I can call any of the coaches and it has been a really good experience."