Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University men's basketball hosts TCNJ on Saturday afternoon in a battle for first place in the NJAC.

GAME INFO
Tip-off from the Panzer Athletic Center is scheduled for 1:00 pm, with live stats and video links available on montclairathletics.com.

LAST TIME OUT
The Red Hawks (13-6, 8-4 NJAC) took down Rutgers-Newark 74-64 on Wednesday, January 24. After their lead was cut to one late in the first half, Montclair scored 12 of the last 20 points to go into the halftime break up 36-31. The Red Hawks used a strong second half on both sides of the ball to close out their NJAC leading eighth road victory. KEYON PRYCE and KIERAN FLANAGAN led Montclair with 17 points each, and AHMAD ROBERTSON tallied 14 points in 15 minutes off the bench.

TEAM LEADERS
MONTCLAIR STATE
Points Per Game: MIKE JACKSON, 18.1
Rebounds Per Game: MIKE JACKSON, 7.1
Assists Per Game: KIERAN FLANAGAN, 5.3
Field Goals Made: MIKE JACKSON, 116
Three-Pointers Made: MIKE JACKSON, 56
Steals: KIERAN FLANAGAN, 34
Blocks: KUNGA TSERING, 14
 
TCNJ
Points Per Game: Nick Koch, 16.2
Rebounds Per Game: Matthew Solomon, 9.9
Assists Per Game: Nick Koch, 4.4
Field Goals Made: Nick Koch, 111
Three-Pointers Made: Jason Larranaga, 39
Steals: David Alexandre, 25
Blocks: Matthew Okorie, 12

SCOUTING TCNJ
The Lions enter with a record of 14-5 and an 8-4 mark in NJAC play, tied with three other programs for the conference lead, including Montclair. They had a three-game conference winning streak snapped in their last contest on Wednesday, January 24, as they fell to Rowan 92-83. Nick Koch led TCNJ with 23 points, and Matthew Solomon finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds. The Lions have won four of their last five road contests.

SERIES HISTORY
The Red Hawks lead the all-time series against TCNJ 100-74 and have won seven of the last 10 meetings between the two sides. Montclair has won four-straight, with three being double-digit victories. They have won five-straight games against the Lions at the Panzer Athletic Center, with the last TCNJ victory coming on January 13, 2018.

LAST MEETING
Montclair defeated TCNJ 85-74 on December 9, 2023 in Ewing, NJ. The Lions held a 51-39 advantage early in the second half, and led by 10 with 10:49 left on the clock. Montclair reeled off nine-straight points, all from beyond the arc, but TCNJ pushed their lead back to six with 5:39 remaining. The Red Hawks made a push late to claim the lead and would not let TCNJ within five the rest of the way, sealing the victory with eight free throws in the final 35 seconds. MIKE JACKSON led Montclair with 21 points in the contest.

UP NEXT
The Red Hawks will travel to face William Paterson University on Wednesday, January 31. Tip-off from Wayne, NJ is scheduled for 8:00 pm.