Ewing, NJ – The Montclair State University men's basketball team erased a 10-point, second-half deficit en route to an 85-74 triumph over The College of New Jersey on Saturday.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks took a 10-9 lead on a MIKE JACKSON three-pointer, but the host Lions responded with a 10-0 spurt to go in front for the first time. GRANT HOLBROOK stopped the run with a three-pointer before KEYON PRYCE drained a three midway through the frame to shrink the gap to five at 21-16.
• The Lions continued to push back, opening up a double-digit lead with 6:39 left in the first half. An 8-2 run, capped off by a KUNGA TSERING three-pointer, made it 33-28, and the Red Hawks entered halftime down eight after SAMAR ABDULLAH hit a three with three seconds remaining.
• TCNJ took their largest advantage of the day 1:31 into the second period, as a layup extended the lead 12 at 51-39. Trailing by 10 with 10:49 left, the Red Hawks reeled off nine consecutive markers from deep by Jackson, KIERAN FLANAGAN, and KYREE HENRY. The Lions converted the next five points, leading by six with 5:39 to go.
• Six of the next eight points favored Montclair before Pryce leveled the game at 66 with a jumper in the paint. Montclair forced a turnover, and three-pointers from Tsering and Jackson on back-to-back possessions pushed the guests in front by six.
• The Lions could only get as close as five the rest of the way, as Henry's triple stretched the margin back to nine, and the combo of Pryce and Flanagan shot a combined 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in the final 35 seconds.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Jackson led Montclair with 21 points and seven rebounds while going 5-for-9 from deep.
• Pryce added 18 and was 9-of-10 from the line.
• Flanagan and Henry handed out a team-best five assists, with the duo combining for 17 points and 15 boards.

FROM THE COURT
""Great effort today. Thought our guys stayed with things and got the game to our style in the last 10 minutes. Thought the bench gave us great minutes and multiple guys stepped up when needed. Proud of the leadership K (KIERAN FLANAGAN) key (KEYON PRYCE) and Fran (FRANCISCO PAULINO." showed." Head Coach Justin Potts. 
 
UP NEXT
The Red Hawks visit Ramapo College on Wednesday, with tip-off in Mahwah, NJ, scheduled for 7:30 pm.