Ewing, NJ – DEVIN COOPER and IRVING CALLENDER IV combined for 50 points and 15 rebounds, but the Montclair State men's basketball team was outlasted by The College of New Jersey 88-87 in double overtime Saturday.

Cooper had 26 points for Montclair State (4-3, 1-2 NJAC), while TCNJ was led by a game-high 37 points from Anthony DiCaro.

The Lions opened the contest on a 15-5 run over the first 8:32 before Cooper stopped the run with a jumper. The lead grew to 12 before Callender IV, and Cooper tallied five straight markers to trim the deficit to four with 3:09 left in the first half. Montclair State ended the first on an 8-3 spurt, with AMARI MILLS tallying all eight points. Mills connected on a pair of triples, including the final bucket with nine seconds left.

Montclair grabbed their first advantage of the afternoon early in the second stanza, with Callender notching the go-ahead bucket. The Lions re-established the double-figure lead before Mills snapped a four-minute drought with a layup. The Red Hawks leveled the game at 48 on the heels of a 7-0 rally punctuated by a jumper from GREG ECK.

The two sides battled back-and-forth before the Lions retook control and moved in front by five. The Red Hawks continued to show fight and went on a 6-0 run to once again creep in front. STEVEN BREEMAN hit a free-throw with 1:15 left, but DiCaro drained a three on the next possession to switch the lead. Breeman drew a foul the next time and hit two from the charity before DiCaro knocked down a jumper in the paint, giving TCNJ a 77-75 lead with 24 ticks left. Cooper drove down the floor and connected with 14 seconds left, and overtime was needed to determine a winner.

The Lions scored the first three points of the first extra session before Eck canned a three to tie things at 80. Mills converted a fast-break to give Montclair a one-point advantage, but again DiCaro was there to answer with a triple. Cooper hit a shot the next time down before DiCaro connected on 1-of-2 from the line to even the game at 84. Both sides had chances to win, but neither could convert, and the game moved into a second extra session.

Jason Larranaga opened the scoring before Cooper back nearly a minute later, but DiCaro knocked down two free throws to establish a 88-86 lead with 2:38 left. Cooper hit one of his 12 seconds later, but the Red Hawks could not find the tying bucket. Callender had a chance to tie it at the buzzer, but his try didn't fall, and TCNJ came away with the two-point win.

Callender missed a double-double by one board, going for 24 points and nine rebounds. Mills tallied 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench, while Cooper and Breeman had three steals. Justin Carbone and Larranaga notched 10 points as Jim Clemente grabbed a game-best 15 rebounds.

The Red Hawks return home on Wednesday to host William Paterson University at 8 pm.