West Hempstead, NY – Freshman guard JAMES WILLIAMS (Englewood, NJ / Dwight Morrow) scored 18 points to lead four players in double figures, however the Montclair State men's basketball team was clipped by Briarcliffe College, 81-78 on Friday evening.

Sophomore guard MIKE HERN (Hamburg, NJ / Walkill Valley) added 15 points for the Red Hawks, who fell back to the .500 mark at 4-4 with the loss. It was the second-straight overtime game for Montclair, which knocked off Drew in OT on Monday.

The Red Hawks led 36-33 at halftime, but saw Briarcliffe come back to take a 71-69 lead with 27.6 seconds remaining as Joshua Smith sank the first of two free throws. Montclair State would grab the second miss and tied the game with 17 seconds left as junior center RYAN WASHINGTON (Edison, NJ / JP Stevens) dropped in a short hook shot in the paint. Hern would make a steal in the closing seconds, but his desparation shot at the buzzer went off the mark.

In the extra period, Montclair State would take the first lead as JOHN BYRNE (East Brunswick, NJ / East Brunswick) scored on a basket with 3:00 minutes to go for a 73-71 advantage. But Smith tied the game with a pair of free throws and Mike Woods added two more as Briarcliffe took the lead for good at 75-73 with just overt two minutes to play.

Hern would give Montclair the lead at 76-75 as Hern drained a three-pointer from the right side with 1:43 left, but Danny Napolitano answered for Briarcliffe as the hosts went back up by one with 1:20 to go. The lead would change hands again as Hern hit two free throws for a 78-77 MSU lead with 1:01 remaining. Napolitano countered with a basket to put Briarcliffe ahead for good with 50 seconds left and Marcel Seymore connected twice from the charity strip in the final 26 seconds for the final margin.

Williams added five rebounds and five assists with sophomore guard KEN DUDLEY (Willingboro, NJ / Burlington Tech) contributing 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Bryne was the fourth player in double figures with 10 points.

The Red Hawks are now off until Friday, December 28 when they face Salem State in the opening round of the Steve Adubato One-on-One Classic at Panzer Gymnasium. That games is scheduled for 7:00 pm following the other opening-round game between Calvin College (MI) and Keene State (NH). The tournament concludes on Saturday, December 29 with the consolation and championship game slated for 1:00 and 3:00 pm, respectively.