Montclair, NJ – Freshman guard MIKE JACKSON scored 18 points with senior guard DEVIN COOPER adding 17 as fourth-seeded Montclair State knocked off No. 5 seed William Paterson, 71-66 in the quarterfinals of the NJAC Men's Basketball Championship on Tuesday.
Guard KIERAN FLANAGAN added eight points and nine rebounds for the Red Hawks (14-9), who advance to the semifinals on Thursday, February 24, at top-seeded Stockton. MSU lost both matchups to the Ospreys this season, including an 89-82 setback in Galloway, NJ, in December.
Guards Jadon Cepeda and Domenic Mignone had 12 and 11 points, respectively, for William Paterson (12-12). Junior guard Adryan Lopez added 10 points.
Montclair State led 33-27 at halftime, but the Pioneers scored seven of the first eight points, cutting the deficit to 36-34 three minutes into the second. The two would stay within reach of one another, with the Red Hawks going up 46-38 on a Jackson layup with 13 minutes remaining. The lead would reach 12 points two minutes later as Jackson's driving layup gave MSU a 53-41 advantage.
WPU responded with a 13-4 run and pulled within 57-54 on a Michael Gilmore putback off a missed free throw. Montclair went back in front by five points, but a Lopez three-pointer with 3:42 to go made the score 59-57. Flanagan came up with a huge three-pointer with 2:11 left, giving the Red Hawks a 64-59 advantage. Cepeda answered with a layup at the other end, but IRVING CALLENDER IV dropped in a floater with 1:14 to go making the score 66-61.
Cooper extended the lead to 68-61 on a pair of free throws with 51 seconds left. Mignone's layup cut that to five points, but Flanagan hit one at the line for a 69-63 advantage with 39 seconds. Lopez got WPU closer drilling a three-pointer with 24 seconds for a 69-66 Montclair State lead. Callender would hit one at the line, with Cooper adding another foul shot with eight seconds left for the final margin.
Jackson added six rebounds and three assists to his performance. AMIR WILLIAMS had eight points and five rebounds. AMARI MILLS and FRANCISCO PAULINO recorded six points each for the Red Hawks.
