Montclair, NJ – Sophomore guard
Angel Gonzalez (Ocala, FL, Meadowbrook Academy) and senior guard
Daniel Singleton (Neptune, NJ, Neptune)combined for 29 points in the first half as Montclair State snapped a four-game losing streak in a big way with a 104-61 victory over Vaughn College in the opening round of the Team Hill Holiday Classic on Friday evening.
Gonzalez finished with 18 while Singleton added 16 for the Red Hawks (3-6), who advance to the championship game on Saturday, December 28 against Berkeley College at 1:00 pm. Berkeley defeated Neumann 85-79 in Friday's other contest. Vaughn will face Neumann in the third-place game at 3:00 pm.
Freshman guard Michael Pena (Dumont, NJ) had 19 points for Vaughn (8-4).
MSU, which won for the first time since November 26, stormed out of the gate as Gonzalez drained a three-pointer five seconds in and
Ordel Goldson (Hackettstown, NJ, Warren Hills) and
Kevin McGorry (Rutherford, NJ, Rutherford) each added buckets for a 7-0 lead. After a Vaughn score, Gonzalez hit again from behind the arc and connected for a third time with 16:04 to play giving Montclair a 16-4 advantage.
Pena hit a three to bring the Warriors within 23-14 with 13:24 to go however the Red Hawks exploded with 18 straight points. Singleton had nine of those points including a three-pointer with 7:12 that put MSU in front 41-14.
Montclair State shot an astounding 27-of-34 from the field in the first half, including 5-of-8 from behind the arc as MSU nearly matched its season scoring average in the first half. Eleven different Red Hawks scored in the first 20 minutes. Senior
Michael Spence (Irvington, NJ, Manchester Regional) had eight points and six rebounds with
Josh LeClerc (Garfield, NJ, Garfield) scoring four in the final minute of the half as Montclair went into the locker room leading 64-23.
Goldson finished with 13 points and five rebounds for MSU which shot 62 percent (42-of-68) for the games while outrebounding Vaughn 43-21. Spence collected 12 points and nine rebounds while LeClerc posted eight points and three rebounds.
The Red Hawks also scored 100 points in a game for the first time since November 12, 2012 when it defeated Penn College 107-61 in the Pepsi Tip-Off Tournament at Susqehanna University.
Sophomore guard Rashad Luckett (Chicago, IL) had 14 points for the Warriors.
Game One - Berkeley 85, Neumann 79
Montclair, NJ – Sophomore guard Dukens Germain (Maplewood, NJ) scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half leading five players in double figures as Berkeley College knocked off Neumann University, 85-79 in the opening round of the Team Hill Holiday Classic at Montclair State University on Friday evening.
Freshman center Vince Richmond (Newark, NJ) had 16 points and six rebounds as the Knights put five players in double figures while winning their fourth straight contest.
Senior guard Reggie Coleman (Trenton, NJ) collected a game-high 23 points for Neumann, which fell to 6-4 as its three-game winning streak came to an end.
Neumann scored the first four points of the game however Berkeley answered with a 14-2 run taking an eight-point lead on a jumper by William Morton (Yeadon, PA) with 12:37 to play in the first half. A six-point run by Neumann closed the 14-12 however Berkeley withstood the charge and built the lead back to 23-16 as Javian Clark (Ewing, NJ) scored with 8:33 left.
DeShawn Lowman (Wilmington, DE) connected twice from the line bringing Neumann within 30-29 before Hassan Abdullah (Trenton, NJ) connected on back-to-back three-pointers helping Berkeley to a 36-31 advantage with 1:31 to go.
Neumann countered with the last four points of the half to make the score 36-35 at the break. Berkeley netted the two quick baskets to boost its lead back to five points but Neumann scored the next 10 points, the last six by Lowman and took a 45-40 lead with 16:40 remaining.
Berkeley would regain the lead with just under 15 minutes remaining as Andrew Tomlin (Newark, NJ) drained a three to make the score 50-47, an advantage Berkeley would not relinquish the rest of the way.
Lowman tied the game for Neumann at 65-65 making the second of two free throws but Germain followed with a three-pointer and Clark added a conventional three-point play giving Berkeley a 71-65 lead with 5:06 to go. Neumann would get as close at 75-70 on Mark Blount's (Philadelphia, PA) layup with 2:47 left but Germain nailed a three-pointer on the next possession restoring the lead to eight points.
Tomlin and Carl O'Neil (Trenton, NJ) each had 12 points for Berkeley while Adbullah added 10 and Clark seven along with four rebounds. Tomlin and O'Neil grabbed five boards apiece.
Lowman finished with 19 points and four rebounds for Neumann which got a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds by Blount who also blocked five shots. Kevin Green (Chester, PA) had 1 0 points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals.
