Newark, NJ – The Montclair State men's basketball team took down Rutgers-Newark 74-64 on Wednesday night to move into a four-way tie for first place in the NJAC.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (13-6, 8-4 NJAC) took an early 5-2 advantage after the opening four minutes on a driving layup from KUNGA TSERING. After the home side briefly took the lead, Montclair regained and held the advantage up until the 12-minute mark of the first half.
• Rutgers-Newark scored nine-straight points over four and a half minutes to take a 15-9 advantage. The Red Hawks responded with eight-straight of their own, capped off by a KIERAN FLANAGAN layup, to retake the lead at the 8:34 mark.
• With the score level at 19, AHMAD ROBERTSON rattled off five straight points for Montclair. Rutgers-Newark cut the lead to one shortly after, but Montclair scored 12 of the last 20 points of the first half to go into the break with a 36-31 advantage.
• Montclair kicked off the second half with a 8-3 run to make the lead double digits, and eventually moved it to 13 on a layup from KEYON PRYCE with 16:20 left. The Scarlet Raiders scored six straight over the next two minutes, but the Red Hawks once again pushed the advantage to 10 with 11 minutes left on a free throw from FRANCISCO PAULINO.
• The home side used a 9-2 scoring run to come within one possession at 58-55 with eight minutes remaining. Montclair responded with 11 of the next 13 points over the next four minutes, including six from Robertson.
• Rutgers-Newark would only get as close as nine the rest of the way, as Pryce converted on a layup and tallied three free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Pryce and Flanagan led the Red Hawks with 17 points each. Both were two shy of their season-highs. Flanagan added four rebounds and four assists.
• Robertson finished with 14 points in 15 minutes off of the bench, setting a new career-high, surpassing his previous mark of 10.
• Paulino grabbed a season-high nine boards in the contest.
• Montclair won its eighth road game of the season, which is tied for first in the NJAC.
• With the victory, the Red Hawks moved into a four-way tie for first place in the conference with Rowan, TCNJ, and Stockton with six games remaining in the regular season.
• The Red Hawks defense forced 22 Rutgers-Newark turnovers in the contest and held the Scarlet Raiders to nine percent shooting from beyond the arc.

FROM THE COURT
"Great team win. Loved our energy and effort tonight. Thought we did a great job of competing at both ends of the floor. Our guys showed a ton of resolve for 40 minutes tonight." - Head Coach Justin Potts. 

UP NEXT
The Red Hawks will return home to take on TCNJ on Saturday, January 27. Tip-off from the Panzer Athletic Center is scheduled for 1:00 pm.