Montclair, NJ – Playing for the first time in 49 years, Montclair State and Drew University provided plenty of thrills in Panzer Gymnasium on Monday night as the Red Hawks overcame an 18-point first-half deficit and then got six points from sophomore guard
KEN DUDLEY (Willingboro, NJ / Burlington Tech) in overtime as MSU upended the Rangers, 73-67.
Freshman guard
JAMES WILLIAMS (Englewood, NJ / Dwight Morrow), the NJAC Rookie of the Week, scored 19 points while Dudley added 18 points, including several key baskets in the second half as MSU improved to 4-3 on the season. It was the first meeting between the schools since the 1958-59 season (a 60-55 Montclair victory), as the Red Hawks improved to 17-3 in the series that began during the 1930-31 campaign.
Senior guard Chris Lopez (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) posted a double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds while senior forward David Cramer (Columbiana, OH / Columbiana) had one of his own with 19 points and 10 boards as Drew fell to 3-3.
The Rangers, who led 22-4 with 6:28 to play in the first half, saw that lead whittled back to 27-20 at halftime and had MSU cut the margin to 34-31 with 15:18 to go as
MIKE HERN (Hamburg, NJ / Wallkill Valley) drained a three-pointer. Drew would restore its lead to nine points at 46-37 with 8:07 to play as Cramer scored on a layup, but Montclair would go on a 12-3 run and took its first lead of the contest with 2:40 to go as Dudley connected from behind the arc. Lopez tied the game on the next possession and after Dudley put MSU back on top with a bucket, Lopez nailed a three-pointer with 19 seconds left to give the Rangers a 54-53 advantage with 19 ticks left. MSU got the next possession and Dudley was fouled with nine seconds remaining. His first attempt was good tying the game at 54-54, but his next free throw rattled off the rim. Lopez got a desperation heave off at the buzzer that went off the mark as the teams headed to overtime.
In the extra period, Dudley put Montclair ahead for good with a three-pointer 21 seconds in. Cramer responded for Drew with a pair of free throws, however Hern converted a three-point play as MSU went up 60-56 with 3:50 to play. Mike Mayes' (Linden, NJ / St. Mary's) baseline jumper cut the lead back to two with 2:40 remaining but Dudley answered again with another three to spark an 11-1 run as Montclair led 71-59 with 42 seconds left as
SEAN YOUNG (Scotch Plains, NJ / SP-Fanwood) capped the spurt with a field goal.
Hern finished with 14 points and five steals for the Red Hawks, who also shook a sub-par first-half shooting performance as Montclair was just 6-of-25 from the field, including one of its first 17 attempts. MSU finished the game at 37 percent (24-of-65). Young collected six points and a team-best 10 rebounds while Dudley added six rebounds and five assists.
Mayes had 10 points for Drew with received five points apiece from Nelson Albino (Parlin, NJ / St. Peter's Prep), Gerard Mullin (Freehold, NJ / St. Rose) and Dave Pepperman (Princeton, NJ / Princeton Day). The Rangers shot 43 percent (23-of-53) from the floor and held a 45-37 edge on the boards.
Montclair State returns to action on Friday, December 14 as the Red Hawks travel to Bethpage, NY to face Briarcliffe College at 7:00 pm. The Rangers are now off until Saturday, December 29 when they face John Jay in the NYU Tournament at 3:00 pm.
