Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University men's basketball team fell to NJCU 80-74 on Wednesday night at the Panzer Athletic Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (8-5, 3-3 NJAC) battled with the Gothic Knights early on as neither team could gain separation. SAMAR ABDULLAH and JACOB MORALES connected on back-to-back three-point shots to give the Red Hawks an 11-8 edge with 12:47 on the clock. After forcing a turnover defensively, KABRIEN GOSS knocked down a shot from long range to push the advantage to six.
• With the score 19-15 just past the halfway point in the opening stanza, Montclair got a three from AHMAD ROBERTSON and a layup from GRANT HOLBROOK to increase the lead to a game-high nine. The Gothic Knights answered with a jumper in the paint on the next possession, but Abdullah hit another long range shot to put the lead in double-figures. 
• MIKE JACKSON later hit a three to make the score 30-20 at the 5:46 mark, but NJCU cut the margin in half over the next two minutes. The Red Hawks led by as much as eight over the final moments of the stanza, with Goss hitting a three with 30 seconds left to make the halftime gap six.
• The visitors came out of the halftime break strong, scoring 12 of the first 18 points over the first four minutes to level the contest at 46. NJCU continued to surge offensively, rattling off ten consecutive markers to cap off their run at the 13:48 mark of the second.
• NJCU built on their strong second half, pushing their lead to a game-high 14 points as the game approached the halfway point of the final stanza. Morales connected on a three-pointer to later cut the deficit to single digits at the 6:10 mark, and Jackson hit a jumper in the paint to bring the Red Hawks within seven with under five minutes on the clock.
• Morales hit another shot from beyond the arc with two minutes remaining to cut the game to four points, but the Gothic Knights answered with a jumper after consecutive turnovers from the two sides. Goss hit a free throw to make it a one-possession game with 31 seconds left, but NJCU closed out the contest for the road victory.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Jackson finished with a game-high 25 points to go along with five boards. It marked the sixth game this season in which he has eclipsed the 20-point mark.
• The senior moved into fourth for scoring in program history, passing Bill Buschke's mark of 1,429 points set in 1953.
• Morales notched 19 points as the other Red Hawk in double figures, hitting four three-point shots in the process. Goss totaled a career-high eight assists facilitating the offense for Montclair.

FROM THE COURT

"Credit to NJCU, I thought they competed and did a great job taking control of the game in the second half. We need to improve in a lot of areas and need to work with some urgency." - Head Coach Justin Potts

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will travel to face Stockton on Saturday, January 11. Tip-off from Galloway, NJ is scheduled for 1:00 PM.