Montclair, NJ – Junior forward Alex Fox (Washington, NJ / Westwood) scored on a layup with 4.2 seconds remaining lifting The College of New Jersey to a 74-72 victory over Montclair State at the Panzer Athletic Center on Wednesday evening.
Sophomore forward Bobby Brackett (Lawrence, NJ / Lawrence) posted a huge game with 30 points and 17 rebounds as the Lions (6-8, 4-3 NJAC) won for the fifth time in its last seven games.
Sophomore guard
Daniel Singleton (Neptune, NJ, Neptune) scored a season-high 29 points for the Red Hawks (6-8, 3-5 NJAC) who fell for just the second time in their last six contests.
The Fox layup capped off a back-and-forth contest which featured 11 ties and 11 lead changes. After TCNJ build an 11-point lead in the second half on to see MSU come back to erase that deficit. Following the MSU run the teams were never separated by more than three points over the final 13:24 of the game.
Gonzalez, who finished 12-of-21 from the field and 4-of-9 from three-point range, connected from behind the arc with 6:20 to play giving Montclair a 68-65 advantage. TCNJ would score five of the next seven points the last two coming on a Brackett layup with 2:05 to go giving the Lions a 70-69 advantage.
Montclair State would answer with a free throw by
Ordel Goldson (Hackettstown, NJ, Warren Hills) to forge the 10th tie of the game at 70-70 and jumper by Gonzalez with 1:12 remaining put MSU in front 72-70. The Lions quickly answered with a layup from Emmanuel Matlock (Trenton, NJ / Solebury) with a layup knotting the game for the final time.
The Red Hawks misfired on a three pointer with 31 seconds left with Jason Chalmers (Oakland, NJ / Indian Hills) snaring the rebound. Following a timeout in the frontcourt with 23 seconds, Fox was able to break free for the winning basket. He finished with eight points .
Montclair State would get one last chance as freshman guard
Erick Loften-Harris (Union, NJ, Union), who hit the game-winning basket in MSU's win over No. 23 Richard Stockton on Saturday, drove the length of the floor and put up a three-pointer from the top of the key. But the shot hit off the back of the rim and rolled out allowing the Lions to escape with their first win in Montclair since December 2006.
Jayson Johnson (Bordentown, NJ / Life Center Academy) had nine points, four rebounds and three assists for the Lions. Eric Klacik (Basking Ridge, NJ / Ridge) added eight points while Skylear Ettin (Princeton, NJ / Princeton) chipped in with seven.
Senior guard
Daniel Singleton (Neptune, NJ, Neptune) had 10 points, six rebounds and six assists for MSU while
Chris Torres (Oakland, NJ, Indian Hills) added eight points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday, January 19 with conference contests. Montclair State heads to Union, NJ to take on Kean University in the Harwood Arena at 1:00 pm. TCNJ is home for New Jersey City University in a 3:00 pm tipoff at Packer Hall.
