Upper Montclair, NJ - Sophomore forward
MICHAEL GLUCK (Union, NJ/Union) scored 14 points and freshman guard
PIERRE MITCHELL (Newark, NJ/East Side) added 13 as Montclair State clamped down on William Paterson in posting a 45-31 victory in New Jersey Athletic Conference Men's Basketball action on Wednesday evening.
The 31 points is the fewest Montclair State has allowed to an opponent in the shot clock era, which began in 1986. The win also kept the Red Hawks (18-5, 12-5 NJAC) in the hunt for a potential second place finish and No. 2 seed in the upcoming NJAC Tournament, which begins on February 26th. William Paterson fell to 18-6 overall and 12-5 in the NJAC, tying them with MSU. Both teams are a half-game ahead of Rowan (11-5) in the league race. Rowan's game with Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday was postponed.
Keyth Hardy (Plainfield, NJ/Middlesex) and Shawn Blakewood (Newark, NJ/Barringer) each had eight points for William Paterson, which committed 20 turnovers and shot just 24 percent (12-of-49) from the field.
Montclair State held an 18-10 lead at halftime following a very slow first 20 minutes where both teams struggled. MSU and WPU combined for 9-of-42 shooting from the field. William Paterson shot just 4-of-21 from the field (19 percent) and had 15 turnovers in scoring 10 points, the lowest Montclair has allowed in a half since the shot clock era in college basketball began in 1986. Meanwhile, the Red Hawks were not that much better making 5-of-21 attempts (24 percent) and committing 12 turnovers.
Gluck had five points while Abraham Johnson (Newark, NJ/Barringer) and
MICHAEL DAVIS (Atlantic City, NJ/Atlantic City) each had four. Hardy and each had four for the Pioneers.
In the second half, the Red Hawks opened the period with 10-2 run to take a 28-12 lead with 15 minutes left. Mitchell and Gluck each had three. William Paterson cut the lead to 28-19 with 11:32 left on a layup by Tim Benoit (Roselle, NJ/Roselle Catholic). But MSU responded with a 6-0 run to push the lead while the Pioneers went over six minutes without a field goal to put the game away.
Johnson finished with eight points and five assists while Davis had six points and an MSU-best nine rebounds. Benoit had six points for the Pioneers with Hardy collecting a game-high 10 rebounds.
