Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University men's basketball team was edged by Ramapo 82-76 on Wednesday night at the Panzer Athletic Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (5-3, 2-2 NJAC) fell behind early as the Roadrunners struck for the game's opening two buckets. The home side answered with back-to-back makes on a three from MIKE JACKSON and a layup from CHRISTIAN CEVIS, but Ramapo pushed the lead back up to 12-8 six minutes into the night.
• A minute later, KUNGA TSERING converted a layup, and JACOB MORALES and Jackson each knocked down three-point attempts to give the Red Hawks their first lead of the night at the 11:47 mark of the opening stanza. After Ramapo answered with a jumper, TYSON ALLEN tipped in a rebound and Cevis hit a fastbreak layup to push the advantage to six approaching the halfway mark of the first.
• Ramapo cut into the deficit over the next three minutes and would eventually reclaim the lead with 6:35 on the clock. They built the advantage as high as five, but Montclair once again battled back to reclaim the lead on a three from SAMAR ABDULLAH with three and a half minutes on the clock. Neither side could build separation by more than one possession until the Roadrunners connected on a three at the end of the stanza to go into the break up 46-42.
• The visitors increased the margin to double-digits for the first time within the opening two minutes of the second and eventually reached a game-high 12 at the 15-minute mark. Later in the frame, Morales sunk a three-pointer and KIERAN FLANAGAN tipped a board in to cut the deficit to two possessions. Montclair continued the run with back-to-back jumpers from AHMAD ROBERTSON to force a Ramapo timeout with the margin at one with 11:33 remaining.
• The Roadrunners made a push to get the score to 73-66 with 6:14 on the clock, and Montclair responded with a tip-in from Cevis and a layup from Morales to come within one again with under five minutes remaining. With the score 78-76 with 42 seconds on the clock, Ramapo hit a three coming out of a timeout to push the margin to five and eventually seal the game.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Jackson finished with a team-high 22 points to go along with seven boards. It marked his fourth 20-plus point performance of the season and first since November 26.
• Cevis notched a season-high 13 points, coupled with five assists and four rebounds. Morales was the third Red Hawk in double-figures with 13 points on three three-point makes.

FROM THE COURT

"Great environment in Panzer tonight, appreciate all the support. Credit to Ramapo, I thought they played well and Pete Gorman was excellent tonight. In order to win in this league, we need to be more consistent from start to finish." - Head Coach Justin Potts

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will travel to face Rutgers-Camden on Saturday, December 14. Tip-off from Camden, NJ is scheduled for 1:00 PM.