Box Score Fort Lauderdale, FL – The Montclair State University men's basketball team fell to Roanoke 93-73 in their first of two games at the 2024 Cruzin Classic on Friday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (5-4) kicked off the afternoon with a three-point make from CHRISTIAN CEVIS and two from MIKE JACKSON to jump out to a 9-4 advantage after the opening three minutes. The Maroons cut the margin to two at 12-10 four minutes later, but Montclair answered on the next possession with a layup from QUANTAVIOUS ROGERS. 
• Roanoke raced out to their first lead of the contest a few minutes later, but AHMAD ROBERTSON sunk a free throw to bring the two sides level. SAMAR ABDULLAH buried a three to push the Red Hawks back in front, and KIERAN FLANAGAN connected on a shot from beyond the arc to make the score 21-17 at the 8:42 mark.
• The Maroons rattled off the next 12 points to build an eight-point advantage with just under five minutes on the clock. Montclair was able to trim the deficit down to 32-25 on a layup from KUNGA TSERING, but Roanoke ballooned their lead to 12 going into the halftime break.
• Roanoke increased the margin by four points two minutes into the second stanza. Jackson answered on the next possession with a three, but the Maroons rattled off eight-straight to make the score 54-33 with 14:46 remaining. Rogers scored on a dunk, and Cevis hit a three to cut the lead to 16, but Roanoke eventually reopened a 19-point lead approaching the midway point of the half.
• Montclair responded and battled back with a 14-6 run over the next seven minutes to cut the game to 10 points. After Robertson converted two free throws, Morales hit two of his own before knocking down back-to-back threes, with Rogers capping off the surge with a free throw. Roanoke built the lead back to 17 with 6:32 remaining, and only allowed it to go as low as 13 the rest of the way to seal the contest.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Jackson finished with a team-high 16 points, his eighth double-digit performance of the campaign. Morales and Robertson were the other two Red Hawks in double-figures with 10 points, with Morales adding six rebounds.
• MYLES PRIMAS logged 22 minutes off the bench with nine points and five rebounds, all new career-highs. 

FROM THE COURT

"I thought we did a great job competing. Roanoke is a very good program and played very well. We need to play a more complete game from start to finish in order to win." - Head Coach Justin Potts

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will remain in South Florida to take on UMass-Dartmouth on Saturday, December 21. Tip-off from Fort Lauderdale is scheduled for 4:00 PM on the campus of St. Thomas University.