Glassboro, NJ – The Montclair State men's basketball team outlasted Rowan University 104-100 in overtime to close out the regular season Wednesday.
 
MIKE JACKSON recorded his first career double-double as Montclair State (21-4, 15-3 NJAC) locked up the No. 3 seed in the NJAC Tournament.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Rowan (20-5, 16-2 NJAC) crept in front 10-9 on a dunk by Connor Dickerson 4:27 into the game before the Red Hawks reeled off five straight points capped by a GREG ECK three-pointer. KALLEEM LAMBERT had two three-pointers midway through the frame, extending the lead to seven.
• The Profs got one point back, and a STEVEN BREEMAN three-pointer stretched the gap to double-figures at the 7:37 mark. A 10-0 Profs spurt shrunk the margin to a one-point game with 5:16 left in the opening half.
• Jackson stopped the run with a jumper, and a KEYON PRYCE layup made it 35-31. The Red Hawks finished the half on an 8-1 rally, with Breeman contributing two three-pointers during the half-ending run. Montclair held Rowan without a basket over the final 3:42 to take a 43-34 advantage into the break.
• The two sides traded baskets opening the second stanza, with Rowan closing to within a pair after a Ja'Zere Noel three with 14:38 left. FRANCISCO PAULINO helped push the lead back to nine, notching consecutive layups before Lambert drilled a three-pointer.
• Three free throws from Josh Wright midway through the frame trimmed the deficit to three for Rowan, and a triple from Eck widened the gap to seven. The Profs got to within two multiple times, but Breeman pushed the score to 88-82 with 3:01 left in the second.
• Rowan took their first lead since the first half on a jumper and two free throws from Andrew Seager, the latter coming with five ticks remaining. After two timeouts, Pryce took the inbound and drove the length of the floor, hitting a layup with .4 on the clock to force overtime.
• Breeman opened the extra session with a three, but Rowan evened the game at 97 on a Damian Smith three with 2:28 left. Jackson and KIERAN FLANAGAN hit two from the charity stripe, putting MSU up 101-98 with 1:01 left.
• After a Seager driving layup, Flanagan was fouled again with 11 seconds remaining, and the junior sunk both. Rowan turned the ball over, and AMARI MILLS hit one-of-two from the line to seal the win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Breeman registered a game-high 23 points with five three-pointers. He is now tops on the single-season list with 78, surpassing the previous best of 75 set by Akbar Hoffman in the 2018 season.
• Jackson's double-double included 18 points and 14 boards, including seven on the offensive glass.
• Eck and Lambert recorded 10 points off the bench, with Paulino chipping in eight in just seven minutes.
• The 15 NJAC victories matched a program-record set during the 1983-84 campaign.

FROM THE COURT
"This has been a resilient group all year and tonight was no different. Proud of our effort and ability to stay connected in a hostile environment. Two good teams going at it in a high level game. Our ability to respond and compete was on display for 40 minutes. We talked about showing the mental maturity in big situations and tonight we did that numerous times. Overall a great team effort." - Head Coach Justin Potts 

UP NEXT                                           
The Red Hawks will host No. 6 New Jersey City University in the Quarterfinals of the NJAC Tournament Saturday inside the Panzer Athletic Center at 1 pm.