Ewing, NJ – The Montclair State men's basketball team picked up its fourth straight win as the Red Hawks edged The College of New Jersey, 64-60, in NJAC action on Wednesday evening. TCNJ is now 10-4 overall and 4-3 in the league.

 MSU led 35-26 at the half as senior GIAN PAUL GONZALEZ  paced the Red Hawks with 13 points. Gonzalez, the NCAA's second leading scorer with a 29.8 ppg average, finished with 21 points on the night.

 MSU led by as many as 16 in the first half, 31-15 ( 4:23) before TCNJ pulled within seven (31-24, 0:50). MSU opened the game on an 8-0 run and despite shooting 44.4% from the floor (12-27) had an impressive lead as the two squads headed to the locker room. MSU held TCNJ to a 33.3% effort from the floor in the first half (9-27), while holding a 20-17 edge on the boards.

The Red Hawks led by as many as 12 points in the second half before TCNJ clawed their way back and had their first lead of the second half on a three-pointer by junior Mike Diamond at 5:08, 55-54. In the final five minutes the two clubs exchanged leads two times before MSU took the lead for good at 3:12, 59-57.

MSU held a 59-57 edge before the Lions fouled JAMAL FORD with 20.8 left in the game and Ford hit both shots. MSU's Gonzalez added two more free throws with 15 seconds left and gave MSU a 63-57 lead. For the night, MSU hit 15-17 free throws, while TCNJ hit just 10-of-19 from the line.

Diamond hit his final shot at the buzzer to collect a trey and make the final score 64-60 as the buzzer sounded. Diamond finished with 12 points for the Lions.

MAURICE TORRES had 11 points for Montclair State while ELLIOT SOLOP and JONATHAN ARTHUR each had 10 points. Arthur led MSU with 10 rebounds while Ford registered eight points and seven caroms. The Red Hawks had just nine turnovers in the game and made 15-of-17 attempts at the free throw line.

The Red Hawks return to action on Saturday, January 14 as they host the Ospreys of Richard Stockton College at 3:00 pm.