Mahwah, NJ - The No. 20 Montclair State University men's basketball team suffered its second defeat in three games with an 84-81 setback tonight at the Athletic Center at Ramapo College.

The loss dropped the Red Hawks to 13-2 overall and into a second place tie in the New Jersey Athletic Conference with William Paterson University with a 7-2 mark. The host Roadrunners improved to 14-2 overall and also assumed sole possession of first place in the conference with an 8-1 NJAC mark.

Ramapo led by as much as 16 points in the first half (31-15) en route to a 46-40 advantage at halftime, although Montclair drew within 39-35 with 3:25 left on the strength of a 12-0 run. The host Roadrunners also shot nearly 60 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, connecting on 17-of-29 field goal attempts (58.6%), while MSU made 15-of-33 tries from the field (45.5%).

Montclair used an 11-2 run to pull within 58-53 with just under 14 minutes remaining, and trailed by a 75-74 score with 5:16 left before Ramapo scored seven of the game's next eight points. MSU then trailed by three points with 10 seconds left, but a potential game-tying three-point shot from the right side by Red Hawk senior guard JOSEPH THOMAS (Linden, NJ) was blocked by Ramapo's Amin Wright out.

Red Hawk junior center JEROME TRAWICK (Newark, NJ) led all players with 26 points and 14 rebounds, and also connected on 10-of-11 free throw attempts. Senior guard BEN MARTINEZ (Scotch Plains, NJ) and freshman forward ANTWAN DOZIER (Pleasantville, NJ) each contributed 15 points, with Dozier adding six rebounds and Martinez four assists. Junior guard Abe Johnson (Newark, NJ) tallied nine points for the Red Hawks, and also recorded five assists and four steals before fouling out.

Jared Milligan paced Ramapo with 19 points, followed by Jay DeGroat with 16 points, while Rasheen Gadsen and Tennyson Whitted registered seven rebounds apiece. Whitted also collected 10 points and a game-high 14 assists as the Roadrunners topped the Red Hawks in Mahwah for the third time in four seasons.

Montclair returns to action on Saturday at Richard Stockton College at 4:00 p.m. in Pomona, while Ramapo hosts The College of New Jersey that same afternoon at 3:30 p.m.