Jersey City, NJ - Senior guard
Daniel Singleton (Neptune, NJ, Neptune) scored 23 points however a late 12-4 run in the second half by New Jersey City snapped the Red Hawks three-game winning streak in a 76-70 loss on Wednesday evening.
Sophomore guard
Daniel Singleton (Neptune, NJ, Neptune) had 14 points while
Ordel Goldson (Hackettstown, NJ, Warren Hills) and
Erick Loften-Harris (Union, NJ, Union) had 11 points each as the Red Hawks fell to 5-7 overall, 2-4 in the NJAC with the loss.
Singleton scored 13 and Gonzalez 12 in the first half as Montclair State shot a solid 60 percent from the field (17-of-28) en route to a 41-30 lead at the break. The Red Hawks led the entire first half and were in front 13-7 with 13:54 to play as Gonzalez drained a three-pointer. After the Gothic Knights tied the game at 16-16, MSU scored 11 straight points capped off by a layup from
Chris Torres (Oakland, NJ, Indian Hills)for a 27-16 advantage with 8:16 left.
Consecutive baskets by Singleton and Goldson, who had nine points in the first 20 minutes, gave Montclair State its largest lead at 39-23 of the half with 3:36 to go before the break.
In the second half, Montclair maintained its lead and held a 56-43 lead with 11:43 to play as Loften-Harris scored in the pain. He would hit two free throws with 5:27 left as MSU led 62-52 however NJCU would score the next nine points to trim the lead to 62-61 with just over four minutes remaining.
NJCU took the lead for the first time with a three pointer but Singleton countered with two free throws knotting the score at 64-64 with 3:15 left.
New Jersey City ran off the next seven points capped by a Walik Albright three-point play with a minute left. Singleton stopped the run with a free throw but Jourdan Roberson hit from the line to make the score 72-65 with 28 second left.
Koko Karajelian (Cliffside Park, NJ, Cliffside Park) hit from behind the arc for Montclair cutting the deficit to four however the Roberson hit four straight from the foul line.
Michael Spence (Irvington, NJ, Manchester Regional) had four points, four rebounds and four blocked shots for MSU.
Montclair State returns to action on Saturday, January 11 when it hosts Richard Stockton at 3:00 pm in its annual charity games. Proceeds from the contest will be donated to the Family Reach Foundation.
