Montclair, NJ – It's the quarterfinals of the 2021 New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament as third-seeded Montclair State (5-3) hosts sixth-seeded William Paterson (2-2). The winner advances to the semifinals on Friday, March 12 against the winner of the New Jersey City-Rutgers-Camden matchup taking place at 8:00 pm in Jersey City, NJ.


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THE TEAMS:
Both teams enter the game on opposite ends of the spectrum. Montclair State dropped its last two contests losing to second-seeded New Jersey City twice a week ago. Junior guard MYLES MITCHELL-WHITE posted a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds in a 76-67 loss to the Gothic Knights on Friday evening. The next day, a late charge by NJCU led to an 87-69 setback at the Panzer Athletic Center. Sophomore guard KEYON PRYCE led with 16 pints with Mitchell-White (14 points), MALACHI SMYTHE (13 points), and IRVING CALLENDER IV (12 points) all hitting double figures. Meanwhile, the Pioneers swept their two-game set with Rutgers-Camden as it returned to action for the first time since its February 6 loss to MSU. William Paterson had to cancel its series with Rutgers-Newark (Feb. 12-13) and New Jersey City (Feb. 19-20) and was inactive until its Friday contest at Rutgers-Camden. Playing for the first time in three weeks, WPU never trailed as sophomore forward Yvens Monfleury scored 17 points in a 56-45 victory. The next day, Domenic Mignone scored a season-high 18 points as William Paterson rallied from nine down in the second half for a 60-55 win.

Montclair State and William Paterson begin their "second season" in the exact place the first one started a month ago – at the Panzer Athletic Center. The Red Hawks prevailed in that meeting on February 5, 83-70. STEVEN BREEMAN notched a double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds while Callender added 15. Pryce and KIERAN FLANAGAN chipped in with 10 apiece. Monfleury tallied 23 points and 14 rebounds for WPU, which got 22 points from Cepeda. The next day, the Red Hawks opened up a 24-point lead in the first half before holding off the Pioneers late in an 83-79 win at the WPU Rec Center. Pryce notched a career-best 26 points with freshman AMIR WILLIAMS adding 16. Monfleury led all scorers with 25 with Cepeda (19 points) and Lopez (15 points) and Mignone (14 points) scoring in double figures.
 

THE COACHES:
Brian Chapman (Sixth Season): 64-67 overall
Justin Potts (Second Season):  86-57 overall, 16-17 at Montclair State


KEY PLAYERS:

William Paterson
Yvens Monfleury (So., F, 6-6, Newark, NJ)
17.8 PPG, 10.8 RPG, .560 FG%. .500 FT%, 4 AST, 3 STL, 5 BLK

Jadon Cepeda (So., G, 5-10, West New York, NJ)
16.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG, .412 FG%. .541 FT%, 5 STL, 5 AST

Adryan Lopez (Jr., G, 6-0, Garfield, NJ)
12.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG, .559 FG%. .563 FT%, 9 AST, 9 STL


Montclair State
MYLES MITCHELL-WHITE (Jr., G, 5-11, Trenton, NJ)
12.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG, .385 FG%. .724 FT%, 17 AST, 13 STL, 3 BLK

KEYON PRYCE (So., G, 6-0, Union, NJ)
11.6 PPG, 2.3 RPG, .429 FG%. .370 3FGT%, .593 FT%, 8 AST, 12 STL

IRVING CALLENDER IV (Sr., G, 6-6, Somerset, NJ)
11.4 PPG, 7.1 RPG, .370 FG%. .706 FT%, 15 AST, 14 STL


TEAM STATS
William Paterson: 66.3 OFF, 66.5 DEF, 38.5 RPG, .436 FG%, .203 3FG%, .512 FT%
Montclair State: 71.9 OFF, 70.6 DEF, 37.0 RPG, .404 FG%, .298 3FG%, .722 FT%
 

NJAC TEAM RANKS

Scoring Off: MSU (4^th 71.9 ppg) / WPU (6^th 66.3 ppg)
Scoring Def: MSU (7^th 70.6 ppg) / WPU (4^th 66.5 ppg)
Scoring Margin: MSU (5^th +1.3) / WPU (6^th -0.3)
Field Goal Pct.: MSU (6^th .404) / WPU (5^th .436)
FG Defense: MSU (7^th .467) / WPU (3^rd  .397)
3FG Pct.: MSU (5^th .298) / WPU (8^th . 203)
Free Throw Pct: MSU (4th .722) / WPU (8^th .512)
Rebounding: MSU (3^rd 37.0) / WPU (2^nd 38.5)
Rebound Margin: MSU (2^nd +2.6) / WPU (5^th +1.3)
 

NJAC INDIVIDUAL RANKS

Scoring: Monfleury (WPU) – 2^nd/ 17.8 ppg; Cepeda (WPU) – 4^th/16.8 ppg; Lopez (WPU) – 8^th/12.8 ppg; Mitchell-White (MSU) – 10^th / 12.4; Mignone (WPU) – 12^th/12.0 ppg; Pryce (MSU) – 14^th / 11.6 ppg; Callender (MSU) – 17^th – 11.4 ppg

Rebounding: Monfleury (WPU) – 1^st / 10.8 rpg), Callender (MSU) – 4^th/7.2 rpg), Cepeda (WPU) – 9^th / 6.0 rpg; Williams (MSU) – 13^th / 5.4 rpg.

Field Goal Pct: Monfleury (WPU) – 1^st / .560

Free-Throw Pct.: Cooper (MSU) – 2^nd / .867; Mitchell-White (MSU) – 8^th / .724; Callender (MSU) 9^th / .706; Mignone (WPU) – 10^th / .600

Assists: Cooper (MSU) – 3^rd / 3.9 apg; Ripato (WPU) 9^th / 2.5 apg; Mitchell-White (MSU) – 12^th / 2.4 apg; Lopez (WPU) – 14^th / 2.3 apg

Steals: Lopez (WPU) – 4^th / 2.3 spg; Mignone (WPU) 5^th / 2.0 spg; Mitchell-White (MSU) 6^th / 1.9 spg; Flanagan (MSU) 7^th / 1.8 spg; Callender (MSU) 8^th / 1.8 spg
 

ALL-TIME SERIES: (MSU Leads 103-76)
Friday's game marks the 180^th meeting between the local rivals, who are separated by nine miles. The first meeting took place back in 1934 when schools were known as Montclair State Teachers College and Paterson State Teachers College. Montclair won the initial battle, 29-28, and less than a month later defeated Paterson State 21-18 as it captured 13 of the first 14 contests. The Red Hawks have had the upper hand of late, winning nine of the last 12 however the Pioneers, which includes the aforementioned two wins this season. This will also be the 10^th meeting in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament, including twice in the championship game with Montclair claiming the 1982 title and William Paterson the 1984 crown. The Pioneers have captured six of those nine previous contests.

LAST 5 MEETINGS
2/6/21: MSU 83, WPU 79 (at WPU)
2/5/21: MSU 83, WPU 70 (at MSU)
1/22/20: WPU 93, MSU 74 (at MSU)
11/26/19: MSU 106, WPU 105 (OT) (at WPU)
1/16/19: MSU 72, WPU 63 (at WPU)

NJAC TOURNAMENT MEETINGS
1981: MSU 84, WPU 78 (Opening Round)
1982: MSU 77, WPU 69 (Championship Game)
1984: WPU 79, MSU 67 (Championship Game)
1986: WPU 65, MSU 61 (Play-In Game)
1998: WPU 95, MSU 75 (Play-In Game)
2000: WPU 65, MSU 48 (Semifinals)
2002: WPU 66, MSU 42 (Semifinals)
2003: MSU 70, WPU 66 (Semifinals)
2008: WPU 71, MSU 61 (Semifinals)