Montclair, NJ - Junior guard JAMAL FORD scored 19 points to lead four players in double figures as Montclair State used a strong first half en route to a 77-56 victory over 12th-ranked The College of New Jersey in NJAC Men's Basketball action at Panzer Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.

Junior guard RASHAD BUTLER added 16 points for the Red Hawks (8-5, 3-2 NJAC), who stayed hot, winning their sixth straight. MSU played the game without head coach Ted Fiore, who underwent knee surgery on Tuesday. Assistant coach Ed Ward ran the team in Fiore's absence.

Derick Grant finished with a game-high 21 points for the Lions (11-4, 5-2 NJAC), who have dropped three straight following a nine-game winning streak. Last year TCNJ swept the season series with Montclair, including a 65-61 win at Panzer Gym in February.

A 15-2 run by Montclair over a four-minute span in the first half propelled MSU to a 34-17 halftime lead. Leading 9-7 with 15 minutes to play, AL HAWKINS ignited the spurt with a three-pointer followed by a GIAN PAUL GONZALEZ jumper. Ford then drained a three to make the score 17-7 with 12:54 left. TCNJ's Derek Brown answered with a dunk but MSU responded with a Gonzalez basket, a three-pointer by Butler, and short jumper by QUENTIN DEMERITTE to take a 24-9 lead with 11 minutes to go in the opening half.

Meanwhile, the Lions struggled from the field connecting on just 7-of-34 from the field in the first 20 minutes, including 1-of-12 from three-point range.

In the second half, Montclair State would lead by as many as 25 as MICHAEL GLUCK scored on a layup for a 44-19 lead with 16:17 left. But TCNJ would chip away at the deficit, cutting it to 12 twice. A layup by Kyle Burke made the score 66-53 with 3:33 to play, but Montclair dashed any hopes of a comeback as Hawkins drained a long-three with the shot clock winding down restoring the lead to 16 with 2:39 to play.

Gonzalez finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds while Hawkins added 11. Gluck grabbed 10 rebounds to go along with his eight points while Butler pulled down nine caroms. Ford collected six rebounds and two blocks. The Red Hawks shot 50 percent (26-of-52) for the game, including 10-of-22 from three-point range.

Mike Snyder had 10 points for the Lions, who finished the game shooting 32 percent (23-of-70) from the field. Scott Findlay had nine points and 10 rebounds. Findlay now has 989 points in his career and will attempt to become the 20th player overall and third TCNJ player this season to reach the 1,000-point plateau as the Lions host Rutgers-Newark on Saturday, January 15 at Packer Hall at 3:00 pm.

Montclair State hits the road to face Richard Stockton in Pomona, NJ at 4:00 pm on the same day.