Mahwah, NJ – The #9 Montclair State University men's basketball team topped Ramapo 95-72 for its eighth consecutive victory to kick off the 2025-26 campaign.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (8-0, 3-0 NJAC) traded baskets with the Roadrunners in the first minutes of the night, with the home side jumping out to a 6-3 lead and would later build it up to 9-5 at the 15:39 mark. Trailing by three a minute later, MASON THEAR equalized on a shot from beyond the arc and pushed Montclair ahead on a driving layup on the ensuing possession. Four minutes later, MYLES PRIMAS slammed in a dunk to extend the lead for the Red Hawks to two possessions at 17-12. With the margin one just under eight minutes on the clock, Thear found KUNGA TSERING cutting towards the basket to nudge the difference to three.
• Two minutes later, AHMAD ROBERTSON drove to the basket to make the score 30-26, with CHRISTIAN CEVIS slicing inside to push the margin to six at the 5:48 mark. Shortly after, KABRIEN GOSS connected on a jumper, with Robertson hitting a free throw a minute later to extend the lead to nine for the visitors. Free throws from CRISTIAN NICHOLSON and another dunk from Primas vaulted the Red Hawks into a double-figure advantage with three minutes remaining. Ramapo strung together seven-straight points to cut the gap to four, with Montclair getting buckets from JACOB MORALES and Nicholson down the stretch to make the halftime score 44-37.
• Montclair kicked off the second stanza with seven of the first 10 points, including four from Primas, to go back up 11 at the 17:42 mark. After the Roadrunners climbed back to within six, Tsering recorded a pair of buckets to provide an immediate counter. Montclair would later embark on a 12-0 scoring run over 4:18 to surge ahead 67-49, capped off by a three from Primas off a feed from Thear. With seven minutes on the clock, Morales and Primas knocked down long-range shots on consecutive possessions to make the margin 18 once again.
• Nicholson drove to the basket with 5:54 on the clock to kick off a run of 11 consecutive points over the next three minutes, with six coming from the freshman guard. Following a three pointer from Ramapo, Primas answered with a layup on the ensuing possession and KEVIN BECK poured in two free throws to push the Red Hawks to 90 points. The home side closed out the night with 10 of the final 15 points, but Montclair held on for the double-digit road victory.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Primas poured in a career-high 19 points on eight makes from the field, including a perfect three-for-three from beyond the arc.
• Nicholson was right behind with 18 points, setting a new career-best in his freshman campaign. He knocked in seven of nine from the field for the night, also a career-high.
• Tsering collected a season-high 12 points in six minutes off the bench, hitting five of six from the field.
• Thear notched his second career double-digit performance with 11 points, as Morales also finished with that mark for the night. Goss added seven points and seven assists.
• For the game, Montclair shot 54 percent from the field and 36 percent from distance. The Red Hawks tallied 37 points off the bench and forced 19 turnovers defensively.
• Montclair has opened a season with eight or more consecutive victories seven times in program history, including twice in the last four years.

FROM THE COURT

"I thought our depth really impacted the game. We got some great contributions off the bench from Mason, Kunga, and Ahmad. We did a better job in the second half of getting the game to the style we prefer. Overall, it was a good team win." - Head Coach Justin Potts

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will host Rutgers-Camden on Saturday, December 13. Tip-off from the Panzer Athletic Center is scheduled for 1:00 PM.