Men's Basketball 2/12/2022 8:00:00 AM

Men's Basketball: Game Day Preview vs. NJCU

Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State men's basketball team hosts New Jersey City University Saturday to close out their regular-season home slate.

GAME INFO
Tipoff is scheduled for 1 pm inside the Panzer Athletic Center, with live stats and video links available on montclairathletics.com. Video can also be found on the Red Hawk Sports Network YouTube Channel.

LAST TIME OUT
On Wednesday evening, Montclair State (12-8, 9-7 NJAC) was tripped up by Rutgers-Newark 66-63. The closest fought battle featured five ties and seven lead changes and saw Montclair State fight back from seven points down in the second half. The Red Hawks pulled within a pair with five seconds to go but could not get any closer.

TEAM LEADERS
Montclair State
Points Per Game: IRVING CALLENDER IV, 15.1
Rebounds Per Game: IRVING CALLENDER IV, 8.6
Assists Per Game: DEVIN COOPER, 4.6
Field Goal Percentage: AMIR WILLIAMS, .621
Three-Pointers Made: MIKE JACKSON, 39

New Jersey City
Points Per Game: Denzel Banks, 15.0
Rebounds Per Game: Denzel Banks, 6.3
Assists Per Game: Jason Battle, 3.3
Field Goal Percentage: Ben Todd, .525
Three-Pointers Made: Derryen White

SCOUTING THE GOTHIC KNIGHTS
The defending NJAC Champions, the Gothic Knights, sit at 11-12 overall and an even 8-8 within the NJAC. They have played a pair of top-ranked opponents, falling 78-58 to Randolph-Macon on November 27 and 93-86 to Yeshiva on December 15. They are coming off a 107-104 setback to Rowan Wednesday despite cutting a 17-point deficit down to two with four seconds to go.

LAST MEETING
The Red Hawks fell 69-66 to NJCU in their previous meeting on January 15. Montclair trailed by as many as nine in the first but closed the period with a 20-10 spurt to grab a one-point advantage entering intermission. MIKE JACKSON's three-pointer with 3:01 left pushed Montclair in front 62-58, but the host Gothic Knights finished the game on an 11-4 run. Montclair had a chance to force overtime but a three-pointer with one second left was off the mark. AMARI MILLS came off the bench to tally 17 pints as IRVING CALLENDER IV posted 15 points and 10 boards double-double.

SERIES HISTORY
Montclair State is 95-80 all-time against NJCU but has dropped the last three meetings. The Red Hawks' last win came on December 11, 2019, in Jersey City. In that game, MSU led by 10 with 5:07 to play, but the Gothic Knights got within a pair with 55 seconds to go. NJCU had two chances to send the game to overtime but could not convert.

UP NEXT
The Red Hawks close out their regular season on Wednesday as they head to Rowan for an 8 pm showdown against the Profs.