Camden, NJ - Senior forward
Ordel Goldson (Hackettstown, NJ, Warren Hills) hit a jumper with 11:01 remaining to give the Montclair State men's basketball team the lead for good in a tight game and the Red Hawks went on to outlast Rutgers University-Camden, 69-61, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference contest on Saturday afternoon.
Goldson finished with a game-high 30 points for the Red hawks, who improve to 8-11 overall and 5-8 in the NJAC. They have won three straight games and 13 of their last 14 against the Scarlet Raptors to lead the all-time series, 46-9.
Rutgers-Camden falls to 4-16 overall and 2-11 in the NJAC.
In a game that featured eight lead changes and five ties, the Scarlet Raptors took their last lead at 45-44 on a pair of foul shots by sophomore guard/forward John Tatem (Camden, NJ/Pennsauken Tech). Less than one minute later, Goldson hit his go-ahead jumper and the Red Hawks padded their lead to 51-45 on back-to-back treys by senior guard
Daniel Singleton (Neptune, NJ, Neptune) and sophomore forward
Kevin McGorry (Rutherford, NJ, Rutherford).
Rutgers-Camden responded with a 7-3 run, cutting the game to 54-52 on a jumper by junior guard/forward Alex Smart (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek) with 4:29 remaining, but Montclair State scored the next seven points to open up the first of a pair of nine-point leads (61-52), the biggest margin of the game. They also led 64-55 with 37 seconds remaining.
The decisive seven-point run included four points by Singleton and three by Goldson.
Goldson, who on Wednesday had a double-double of 27 points and 18 rebounds in an upset victory at William Paterson University, shot 11-for-19 from the floor and 8-for-11 from the foul line on his way to 30 points. He also added six rebounds, two steals and one assist.
Singleton, meanwhile, finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, while tying his teammate, junior guard
James D'Angelo (Long Valley, NJ, West Morris Central) with four assists.
Junior forward
Chris Torres (Oakland, NJ, Indian Hills) added 10 points and six boards for the Red Hawks, while D'Angelo had a game-high seven steals.
For the game, the Red Hawks shot 24-for-58 (41.4 percent) from the floor.
Rutgers-Camden received a double-double from Tatem, who notched 21 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Tatem also tied for game-high assist honors with four, while leading the Raptors with four steals.
Junior guard/forward Teon Russell (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson) nearly added a double-double as well, finishing with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Smart canned 15 points for the Raptors and added six rebounds.
Rutgers-Camden shot 25-for-52 (48.1) from the floor and held a 37-29 advantage off the boards, but the Scarlet Raptors also had 24 turnovers to the Red Hawks' 17.
Montclair State returns to action Monday, hosting Hunter College in a 7:30 p.m. non-conference game.
