Montclair, NJ – STEVEN BREEMAN became the 26th student-athlete in program history to score 1,000 points as the Montclair State men's basketball team clipped Kean 82-81 Saturday.
 
Breeman finished with a game-high 23 points for Montclair State (20-4, 14-3) as Jailen Jamison had 18 for Kean (17-7, 10-7 NJAC). The Red Hawks have locked in the No. 3 seed in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament and will host the No. 6 seed next Saturday at 1 pm.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks tallied 12 of the first 18 markers of the game, including five each from KIERAN FLANAGAN and KEYON PRYCE. Breeman extended the Montclair advantage to five, thanks to consecutive layups.
• The Cougars used a 6-0 to grab a 19-18 advantage and pushed the gap to four on a layup from Heem Burno with 5:09 left in the first half. GREG ECK notched five consecutive points, including a three-pointer to push Montclair back in front 26-25.
• Kean responded with eight consecutive markers to open up the largest lead of their afternoon at 33-26 before Montclair reeled off seven of their own to level the game at 33. Eck swiped an inbound pass and recorded the layup, tying things up.
• The Cougars ended the frame with the final four tallies, taking a 37-33 lead into the break.
• Montclair stormed out of the gate in the second half, pouring in the first nine points and holding Kean scoreless over the first 2:25. The Cougars tied the game at 47 on a layup before MIKE JACKSON banged home a triple on the next trip down the floor.
• The see-saw second period saw both sides take small leads, and the visitors inched in front 66-63 on a JD Daniels layup. Montclair registered seven consecutive points, including a go-ahead three-pointer from KEYON PRYCE with 5:56 to go.
• Breeman threw down a dunk with 3:31 to play, giving Montclair a slim 72-71 edge. The senior knocked consecutive three-pointers, the second pushing him over the 1,000-point plateau to extend the gap to five at 78-73.
• The Cougars shrunk the margin to two after three Daniels free-throws, but Pryce countered with two of his own to establish a four-point lead. Kean drained a three with .07 left but could not swipe the inbound, and Montclair ran out the clock.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Red Hawks reached the 20-win mark for the first time since 2010-11 when they went 20-8. The team notched 20 wins for the ninth time overall.
• The 14 NJAC wins are one off of the program record of 15, set during the 1983-84 campaign.
• Breeman added six rebounds and four assists to go along with his 23 points while hitting three three-pointers.
• Eck netted a season-high 13 points, with Jackson putting up 18.
• Flanagan filled the box score with nine points, nine rebounds, five assists, and two steals.

FROM THE COURT
"Want to thank all those that came out and packed panzer today.  Special shout-out to football and Coach Palazzo. Proud of guys resilience today.  They competed and responded in every moment.  Today was a special day to honor our seniors but more importantly honor those who have worn the uniform. Our guys showed today what Montclair State basketball is all about." Head Coach Justin Potts. 

UP NEXT
The Red Hawks close the regular season Wednesday as they head to Glassboro, NJ, to face Rowan at 7:30 pm.