Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University Men's Basketball (11-5, 6-3 NJAC) team took care of business today at home as they downed Kean (8-8, 6-3 NJAC), 79-66 on Saturday afternoon.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Kean jumped out to a 4-0 lead early but was answered by eight-straight points from Montclair on a layup and three-ball from MIKE JACKSON and a three-ball from JACOB MORALES to flip the game in their favor. The Red Hawks were able to continuously repel any Cougar rally attempt as the two teams continued to exchange scores up to a 31-22 Montclair lead with 7:39 remaining in the first half.
• The best opportunity Kean had was on an 8-0 run that cut the lead to just one at 31-30, but layups from KIERAN FLANAGAN and KABRIEN GOSS pushed the lead back out to five. The two teams once again each exchanged scores, but it was only a two-point lead that Montclair took into the half.
• After no team saw any scoring in the first three minutes of the second half, the deep-ball came calling for Montclair as two from Morales and one from Jackson gave the Red Hawks their first double-digit lead of the half at 49-38. Montclair had Kean on their heels and after going up 59-45 with 11:56 remaining, a 6-0 run put them up 20 at a score of 65-45 with just eight minutes remaining in the game.
• No true run came for the Cougars as they were able to find the bottom of the net, but were unable to stop Montclair's offense from scoring and eventually the game came to a 79-66 conclusion.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• All 11 of the teams deep balls came from Jackson (5) and Morales (4). Jackson finished 8-for-11 and 5-for-8 from deep with a team-leading 22 points and two steals. Morales finished 7-for-14 and 4-for-9 from deep with 18 points, three assists, three steals, and two blocks. Both student-athletes each led the team in rebounds with seven.
• Flanagan posted his best outing of the season when he shot 6-for-10 from the floor with a season-high 15 points to go along with a team-leading five assists.
• Despite alsos seeing success from the beyond the arc, the Red Hawks also attacked the paint effectively, scoring 40 of their 79 points inside.

FROM THE COURT

• "Always great to be back in Panzer. Appreciate all the support today. I thought our guys competed and really stayed connected for 40 [minutes]. Overall, a great team effort." Head Coach Justin Potts.

 
UP NEXT

• Montclair State University hits the refresh button of their conference schedule as they take on Rowan for the second time this season on Wednesday, January 22. Tip-off from the Panzer Athletic Center will be at 7:30 pm