Salem, VA – Junior forward
BRANDON CHANNER netted 28 points along with six rebounds however the Montclair State men's basketball team suffered its second straight loss falling to Kenyon in the consolation game of the Cregger Classic at Roanoke College on Sunday.
Junior
SHAUN RUSSELL scored 22 points in a reserve role as the Red Hawks fell back under the .500 mark at 5-6. MSU has lost six of its last seven games.
Montclair State led for the first half of the opening period and took a 9-2 lead with 16:11 remaining as
AARON WILLIAMS connected from behind the arc. MSU would hold a 17-16 advantage with 10:57 to go when Kenyon went on a 22-8 run over the next eight minutes to build a 38-25 lead with 2:45 left before halftime.
Kenyon shot 60 percent in the first half making 15-of-25 attempts from the field while going 11-of-13 from the foul line. Meanwhile the Red Hawks struggled shooting the basketball hitting just 8-of-28 attempts, including 2-of-10 from three-point range. Channer had 11 points while Kenyon's Brien Comey scored 14 as the Ohio school led 44-31 at the break.
In the second half, the Red Hawks fell behind by as many as 19 points, 54-35 after Matt Shifrin hit a jumper with 16:09 to play. MSU chipped away at the deficit and would get within 68-61 with 8:25 remaining as Channer hit twice from the charity stripe.
Kenyon boosted the lead back to double-digits, however MSU mad another run and climbed to within 77-72 after Russell scored on a layup with 4:28 to go. Two free throws from Williams with 68 seconds left made the score 84-80 but Tim Connolly answered with two of his own with 13 seconds making the margin six points.
Channer, named to the All-Tournament Team, added a pair of assists and steals for MSU which got nine points, two assists and four steals from
ERICK LOFTEN-HARRIS. Williams had 13 points and four rebounds with Russell handing out a team-high five assists.
JORDAN ROBERSON led all Montclair players with eight rebounds.
The Red Hawks return home to the Panzer Athletic Center on Wednesday, January 6 hosting Rowan University in an NJAC matchup scheduled for 8:00 pm.
