Mahwah, NJ – Senior guard
DANIEL RAMIS poured in a career-high 30 points setting single-game and single-season marks for three-point field goals however fourth-seeded Montclair State was knocked out of the NJAC Tournament with an 80-76 loss to top-seeded Ramapo on Wednesday evening.
Ramis connected 10 times from behind the arc and
JORDAN ROBERSON added 13 points for the Red Hawks, who closed out their season at 18-9. MSU was seeking its first NJAC Championship Game appearance since 2011 however it's the Roadrunners (20-6) who will play for the title as they face sixth-seeded William Paterson on Saturday at the Bradley Center. WPU pulled off its second straight upset beating No. 2 seed The College of New Jersey in Ewing.
Ramis, who was 10-of-18 from the field, broke the single-game record of nine set by Angel Gonzalez against Kean University in 2014. Playing his final game in an MSU uniform, Ramis finished with 71 three-point field goals on the year surpassing Gonzalez' 2014 mark of 62 and closed out his Red Hawks career with 122, third-best all-time.
Ramis had the hot hand in the first half hitting 7-of-10 attempts from three-point range as Montclair State led the entire first half and took a 36-29 lead into the locker room. MSU would get the advantage up to 50-31 five minutes into the second half as Roberson scored on a layup.
Trailing by 19, the Roadrunner went on a 30-9 run over the next 10 minutes to take the lead. Patrick Peterson hit a three to knot the score at 59-59 and NJAC Defensive Player of the Year Josh Ford hit two free throws with 4:31 left giving the hosts their first lead of the contest.
JOVANNI CHATHAM retied the game on the next possession and the teams traded the lead.
NJAC Rookie of the Year
MYLES MITCHELL-WHITE hit a jumper with 1:08 left putting the Red Hawks in front 68-65. Christopher Mosley answered with a jumper 13 seconds later making it a one-point game. MSU turned the ball but Ramapo missed two jumpers.
Montclair got the rebound but was cornered by the defense and called timeout. But the Red Hawks had none remaining and a technical foul was assessed. Peterson made the first to tie the game. He missed the second and a three-pointer by Mitchell-White went off the mark and for the second straight game Montclair State went into overtime.
Thomas Bonacum made two free throws and Mosley a jumper in the first two minutes of OT giving Ramapo a 72-68 lead.
JUSTIN PORTER hit a jumper and a field goal by Roberson with 2:14 to go tied the game at 72-72. The Roadrunners swing the lead back in their favor as Bonacum hit again with a Peterson jumper giving Ramapo a 76-72 advantage with 1:05 to play.
Peterson added two more from the line with 51 seconds and Mosley added another increasing the lead to 79-72. Roberson answered with two foul shots for Montclair and a Porter jumper off a turnover pulled MSU within 79-76 with 33 seconds. MSU got one last chance after two missed Roadrunner free throws. But the Red Hawks couldn't come up with a basket and Bonacum all sealed the game making a free throw with 14 seconds left.
Roberson grabbed 12 rebounds to complete a double-double performance. Bogus added eight points and eight rebounds with Mitchell-White totaling seven points along with 10 rebounds.
Tonight's game marked the third meeting between the teams in the NJAC Men's Basketball Championship and added another thrilling chapter. Montclair State won the first two contests, including an epic double-overtime win in the 2003 championship game as Ben Martinez went coast-to-coast scoring on a layup with one second remaining in an 86-84 victory. In 2011, Dwight Freeney connected on a three-pointer with 35 seconds left as fifth-seeded MSU upset top-seeded Ramapo 67-64 at the Bradley Center.
