Upper Montclair, NJ - Senior guard
BEN MARTINEZ (Scotch Plains, NJ/SP-Fanwood) scored 16 points and handed out nine assists while junior
JEROME TRAWICK (Newark, NJ/Clifford Scott) posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds as Montclair State won the battle of the unbeatens with a 75-66 victory over Baruch College in the Championship Game of the MSU Holiday Tournament at Panzer Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
Freshman
ANTWAN DOZIER (Pleasantville, NJ/Pleasantville) added 16 points as the Red Hawks improved to 9-0 on the season, one win shy of their best start since the 1983-84 season (10-0). Senior guard John Alesi (Staten Island, NY/Xaverian) had 16 points for the Bearcats, who fell to 9-1.
The win gave Montclair its second tournament title of the season. The Red Hawks also won the MSU Tip-Off Tournament in November. In the consolation game, Susquehanna got 16 points and 10 rebounds from Walter Fowler (Dingmans Ferry, PA/Delaware Valley) as the Crusaders (4-4) defeated Eastern Connecticut State, 74-60. Melvin King (Middletown, NY/St. Thomas More Prep) had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Warriors (3-6).
Montclair State trailed 16-14 with 11:19 left in the first half before scoring 10 straight points over the next three minutes.
PIERRE MITCHELL (Newark, NJ/East Side) gave the Red Hawks the lead with a three-pointer and Trawick, who was named the MVP of the Tournament, followed with a layup for a 19-16 advantage. Mitchell then scored on a layup before Trawick sank a short jumper to make the score 24-16 with 7:20 left in the half.
MICHAEL DAVIS (Atlantic City, NJ/Atlantic City), who finished with 13 points, capped the run with a free throw.
Baruch tied the game at 30-30 with 1:19 to play in the half, but Dozier gave MSU the lead for good with a layup with 52 seconds left. Dozier then punctuated the half for Montclair State as he picked up a loose ball with two seconds left and buried a three-pointer at the buzzer for a 35-30 Red Hawk lead at the break. Montclair built a 16-point lead in the second half as Dozier's jumper gave MSU a 59-43 lead, however, Baruch would close within 70-64 on a free throw by Shawn Applebaum (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian) with 40 seconds to go. Martinez then hit two free throws and Trawick added two more to put the game away for MSU.
Martinez added six steals and was named to the All-Tournament Team along with Trawick. Alesi and Joe Longobardi (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic), who had 11 points, were also named to the team along with Susquehanna's Fowler and Eastern Connecticut's King.
