Montclair, NJ – Behind a career-high 31 points from KEYON PRYCE, the No. 3 Montclair State men's basketball team knocked No. 6 New Jersey City University 89-69 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Quarterfinals Saturday.
 
The Red Hawks (22-4) move on to the NJAC Semifinals, where they will face No. 2 Stockton University for the second straight season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• With the contest tied at six, Montclair reeled off eight of the following 10 markers to take a six-point advantage. The Gothic Knights (12-14) tallied the next 10 points, capped off by Kayton Darley's jumper.
• The back-and-forth period saw several ties and lead changes before Montclair State took a 29-25 lead after a layup and free-throw from MIKE JACKSON with 3:49 left in the opening half. The Gothic Knights drew within a pair on a Yvens Monfleury layup, cutting the score to 29-27.
• The Red Hawks answered with four consecutive tallies from GREG ECK, with NJCU getting to two with 21 ticks remaining. Montclair held for the last shot, and STEVEN BREEMAN found KIERAN FLANAGAN, who hoisted up a shot from a well-beyond three-point arc and drained the shot.
• Montclair took a 33-27 lead into the break and shot 42.9% (12-of-28) from the floor in the opening period.
• The advantage swelled to double-figures 3:34 into the second stanza as Pryce hit a driving layup. After a pair of NJCU free-throws cut the lead in half, AMARI MILLS banged home a corner three-pointer to push the gap back to eight.
• An Avante Gilbert jumper with 9:40 left brought the lead down to five, but the Red Hawks broke the game open with a game-changing 18-0 run over a 4:09 span. Pryce and Jackson combined for 17 of 18 points during the run.
• A Pryce jumper in the paint with 4:40 left extended the margin to a game-high 26, and NJCU could not get the score under 20 the rest of the way.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Breeman became the program leader in career three-pointers, hitting three during the game. The final one broke a tie with B.J. Reilly and gave him 168 over four seasons.
• Jackson tallied 21 points and was 4-for-5 from three.
• Pryce was 8-for-11 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from deep, and 11-of-12 from the charity stripe.
• Flanagan chipped in six points, eight assists, four rebounds, and three steals.
• Gilbert led NJCU with 20 points.
• The 22 wins are the most since 2002-03 notched 23 en route to the "Sweet 16" that season.

FROM THE COURT
"First of all want to thank all the fans that packed the PAC. Special shout-out to football and women's lacrosse. Panzer's environment has been second to none all year Our guys did a great job of staying in the moment today. I thought we really got the pace going in the second half with our pressure and O.  Key (KEYON PRYCE) & Mike Jack (MIKE JACKSON) really gave us a great lift during the run in second half. We talked about playing Montclair State basketball for 40 today and earning another opportunity to play 40. Really proud of this group and their ability to keep working and improving throughout the year. Thanks again to all the fans for their support." - Head Coach Justin Potts.

UP NEXT
As previously mentioned, the Red Hawks and Ospreys will face off in Galloway, NJ Tuesday at 7 pm. The Ospreys claimed both meetings this season, including a 93-86 triumph in the last meeting on February 4.