Montclair, NJ – Junior STEVE BREEMAN notched his third career double-double as the Montclair State men's basketball team downed William Paterson 83-70 in the season-opener for both teams Friday evening.

Behind 23 points and 13 rebounds from Breeman, the Red Hawks knocked off the Pioneers for the sixth time in the last seven meetings. The two sides will meet again tomorrow afternoon, with Montclair State making the short drive to Wayne for a 2 pm tip-off.

The Pioneers held the Red Hawks off the board for the first four minutes before sophomore Keyon Price broke the drought with a fast-break layup. That kick-started a 10-0 Red Hawk spurt, with Pryce finishing the rally off with a triple.

The score stayed close, and a jumper by rookie AMIR WILLIAMS extended the Montclair lead to six points midway through the frame. After a jumper by the Pioneers trimmed the deficit to four, senior IRVING CALLENDER IV drained a three to give MSU their largest lead thus far at seven. The Pioneers did not go away, cutting the lead to a single point on a three-point play by Yvens Monfleury with 4:43 left in the first. The Red Hawks ended the first half with a 7-2 run, capped off by a three from senior TIM ALGENIO with 39 seconds left.

Monfleury and Jadon Cepeda led William Paterson with a combined 30 points in the first 20 minutes, but the stingy Red Hawk defense caused 15 Pioneer turnovers. Pryce scored 10 points off the bench, while Breeman and Callender IV added nine each.

Opening the second half, the Pioneers got within four on a Cepeda jumper four and a half minutes in. The Red Hawks were able to break the game open at a crucial time with 9:30 left in the period. Breeman canned a three to open up a 12-2 run, with the junior adding eight points during the rally. William Paterson was unable to get any closer than 12 the rest of the way, with MSU leading by as much as 18 when rookie KIERAN FLANAGAN hit a three with under four minutes to go.

Callender IV tallied 15 points and seven rebounds, as Flanagan and Pryce each added 10. In his first collegiate action, rookie AMIR WILLIAMS hauled in nine caroms while Breeman handed out a team-high four assists. Monfleury matched Breeman with a game-high 23, as Cepeda chipped in 22.