Montclair, NJ – Senior
AKBAR HOFFMAN scored a game-high 26 points to send the Montclair State men's basketball team past Ramapo College 98-78 in New Jersey Athletic Conference play Wednesday.
The Red Hawks (9-10, 7-5 NJAC) matched the school-record with 18 three-pointers and snapped a four-game overall streak. Montclair also swept the season series over the Roadrunners (11-8, 7-5 NJAC) for the first time since the 2001-02 campaign.
Senior
JOSEPH RADI had the first five points for the Red Hawks, but the Roadrunners were able to pull level at eight all. Montclair embarked on an 8-1 spurt to take control of the game before a triple from
STEVE BREEMAN extended the Red Hawk lead to 12 at the 11:21 mark of the first half.
A pair of Matt Latka free throws trimmed the deficit to nine, but Radi buried three's on consecutive possessions to re-establish the double-digit lead. Montclair ended the period with nine of the final 13 points, finished off with a dunk from
MALACHI SMYTHE.
Montclair shot a blistering 60.6% (20-of-33) from the field, including 13-of-20 from behind the arc in the first half. Hoffman, Radi, Breeman, and
DEAIREUS BROWN each hit three triples over the first 20 minutes.
The teams traded buckets to open the second half before Hoffman and Breeman each hit from deep, with Breeman's trey coming in transition off a Ramapo missed shot. Midway through the stanza, Ramapo tallied five straight points to attempt to get the deficit under 20, but senior
JALEN PARHAM tossed down a thunderous dunk to end the run.
The Roadrunners would get as close as 15 points on a Noah Buono jumper with 4:27 to go, but the Red Hawks used an 11-5 rally to hold off the Roadrunner comeback hopes. TJ Schneider scored the final points on a layup late in the game for the Red Hawks, the first points of his collegiate career.
Hoffman scored his 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, including 6-of-10 from three. Breeman chipped in 17 points off the bench with five three's, with Radi adding 11. The Red Hawk bench outscored Ramapo's 39-24 and received key contributions from Brown and Keyon Price, who added six assists. Jason Battle and Jordan Zagadou led Ramapo with 15 points.
Montclair State hits the road on Saturday, taking on The College of New Jersey at 3 pm. The Red Hawks earned an 88-86 triumph over the Lions back on December 14.
