Montclair, NJ – The #12 Montclair State University men's basketball team surged past William Paterson 102-75 on Wednesday night at the Panzer Athletic Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (6-0, 2-0 NJAC) came out of the gate strong with seven of the first nine points, including a three from CRISTIAN NICHOLSON and buckets from JACOB MORALES and KABRIEN GOSS. After the Pioneers cut the game to one possession, Montclair rattled off 10 consecutive points over the next two minutes, capped off by a jumper from Goss to make the score 17-4 with 15:34 on the clock. After the two sides traded buckets the next two trips up the court, William Paterson went on a 14-7 run over the ensuing three and a half minutes to cut the game to six points at the halfway point of the stanza.
• Montclair countered with the next nine points over the following two minutes, capped off by back-to-back buckets from KEVIN BECK to vault the home side in front by 15 points. The Pioneers cut the deficit to 10 with 5:35 remaining in the opening period, immediately countered by a long distance shot from Goss. A minute later, Beck knocked down a three to reopen a 15-point advantage, which would later grow to 18 on a make from beyond the arc from Morales with 2:07 on the clock. Montclair grew the lead to a half-high 20 in the waning moments, but a jumper down the stretch from the visitors made the score at the break 55-37.
• William Paterson opened the second half with six of the first eight points to cut the deficit to 14 points 95 seconds in. The two sides battled over the next four minutes, as RYAN CASSELS hit a jumper to make the score 66-49 at the 14:25 mark. After the Pioneers cut the deficit to 12 shortly after, the Red Hawks rattled off eight of the next 10 points, sealed by a layup from AHMAD ROBERTSON, to surged back in front by 19 with the period approaching the midway point.
• Nicholson sank a three-point shot with 7:25 remaining to kick off a 11-4 scoring run over the next three minutes, led by a pair of long distance shots from Morales, to once again push the Red Hawks out by 19. Montclair closed out the night with 13 of the final 14 points to seal their third consecutive home victory.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Morales led the way for the Red Hawks with a game-high 29 points on 10-for-18 shooting from the field, hitting six three-point shots for the third consecutive game. The senior has surpassed 25 points in four out of six appearances this season. He added seven rebounds to go along with six assists.
• Goss amassed 16 points for his third-straight double-figure performance while matching his career-high in assists with nine. Nicholson and Beck each poured in 13 points to set new career-bests.
• Montclair shot 54 percent from the field for the night, including a blistering 66 percent in the opening stanza. The Red Hawks converted 43 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc, hitting 14 on the night.
• The Red Hawks notched 55 points in the first half, marking their sixth-straight game to open the season in which they had a half of 50 or more points. Montclair is averaging 91.8 points per game, surpassing 100 points in back-to-back contests.
• Montclair has won six consecutive games to open the season, the most since the 2022-23 campaign, when they rattled off 10 in a row to start.

FROM THE COURT

"Appreciate all the support in Panzer tonight. I thought our guys competed and played with great energy. We did a great job of sharing the ball and got a lot of great contributions throughout the roster. We just need to keep working and stay committed to improving." - Head Coach Justin Potts

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will travel to face Rutgers-Newark on Saturday, December 6. Tip-off from Newark, NJ is scheduled for 6:00 PM.