Ewing, NJ – Junior forward JACOB MORALES led the way for the Montclair State University Men's Basketball team (10-5, 5-3 NJAC) with a 27-point performance on Wednesday night that helped propel the Red Hawks to a 78-71 road win at The College of New Jersey.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Morales and MYLES PRIMAS each kicked off the game for the Red Hawks with made shots from beyond the arc with TCNJ keeping pace with buckets in the paint. Montclair held a two-possession lead of five after a KABRIEN GOSS layup and a GRANT HOLBROOK three put them up 11-6 in the first five minutes of the contest.
• Montclair was able to thwart TCNJ from flipping the game in their favor for the entirety of the half. The Lions were able to cut the lead to just one at a score of 19-18 with 7:09 remaining in the first half, but a 12-2 run that was sparked by a three-point shot from CHRISTIAN CEVIS gave Montclair a double-digit lead of 31-20. The Lions generated a 9-2 run to close out the first half with the Red Hawks holding a 33-29 lead at the break.
• The two teams continuously exchanged buckets to begin the second half, with no team able to generate a true run. TCNJ got close to tying the game at the 14:18 timestamp when they narrowed the advantage to a two-point lead of 46-44, but a massive 18-5 run for Montclair widened the gap to 15 with a score of 64-49 with 8:19 left in the game.
• After nearly holding a 20-point lead of 71-52, The Lions rallied back with an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 74-66, but with only 23 seconds left, the lead was too great for them to overcome. The Red Hawks made their free throws down the stretch and eventually came away with a 78-71 road victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Morales was once again the spark plug for the Red Hawks. His 27 points came on 10-for-18 shooting and was nearly perfect from deep going 5-for-6. Jacob also led the team with six rebounds.
• The Red Hawks also saw key contributions from their freshman talent. Both Goss and Primas each collected 11 points and two steals on the night. Goss also led the team in assists with six.
• Winning the deep ball battle tonight was a game-changer for Montclair, who out shot TCNJ 44.4% to 19.0% from beyond-the-arc.

FROM THE COURT

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UP NEXT

• Montclair State University returns to the Panzer Athletic Center NJAC action when they play host to Kean on Saturday, January 18. Tip-off for the contest is at 1:00 pm.