Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State Men's Basketball team heads into a pivotal road matchup with New Jersey City on Wednesday evening

GAME INFO
The game is set for a 7:30 pm showdown inside the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center. Live coverage of the game can be found at montclairathletics.com
 
LAST TIME OUT
Montclair completed the series sweep against Stockton for the first time since 2011 when they downed the Ospreys 91-86 on Saturday afternoon. The Red Hawks (16-6, 11-4 NJAC) struck for the game's opening five points on a three-point make from MIKE JACKSON and a layup in the paint from MYLES PRIMAS. After the Ospreys crept to within one point at 7-6, Montclair rattled off 13 consecutive points, highlighted by two makes from beyond the arc by JACOB MORALES, to go up by 13 nine minutes in. Shortly after, the Red Hawks pushed the advantage to 18 on another layup from Primas and three from Morales to make the score 28-10 with 6:57 remaining in the opening stanza. Montclair pushed the lead past 20 points with three and a half on the clock on a three from CHRISTIAN CEVIS, and the two sides traded buckets on the next two possessions.  HENRY MEYERS knocked in back-to-back trips up the floor to force a Stockton timeout, up 22 points. Stockton began to close the gap as they trimmed the deficit to 17 going into the halftime break. An and-one opportunity coming out of the half brought the Ospreys to within 14 to kick off the second stanza. With 15:33 on the clock, Stockton hit back-to-back buckets to make the margin 11 points, and after a three on the other end from AHMAD ROBERTSON, the Ospreys strung together five more points to cut the game to single digits at 57-48 with just under 14 minutes remaining. Trailing by 11 shortly after, Stockton rattled off nine-straight points to come within one possession, 59-57, approaching the midway point of the second half. Montclair responded on the next possession with a three-pointer from KABRIEN GOSS, and Robertson converted a layup after Jackson forced a turnover defensively on the ensuing trip up the floor. Jackson hit a pair of free throws later on in the period to reopen a 12-point lead for Montclair with 5:47 remaining, but the Ospreys once again shaved it down with a run of eight-straight points over the next minute. KIERAN FLANAGAN sunk two free throws with just under two minutes remaining to make the margin eight, but Stockton made one final surge, cutting the game's margin to three with 61 seconds left on the clock. Robertson went two-for-two at the line with five seconds left to make it a two-possession lead and forced a turnover on Stockton's next possession to seal the home victory and regular season sweep of Stockton.

TEAM LEADERS
MONTCLAIR STATE (16-6, 11-4 NJAC)
Points Per Game: JACOB MORALES, 18.0
Rebounds Per Game: JACOB MORALES, 4.9
Field goal percentage: KUNGA TSERING .569
Three Point Percentage: JACOB MORALES, .467
Free throw Percentage: JACOB MORALES, .897
Assists: KABRIEN GOSS, 92
Steals: MIKE JACKSON, 45
Blocks: MYLES PRIMAS, 15


NEW JERSEY CITY (12-10, 11-3 NJAC)
Points Per Game: Avante Gilbert, 12.6
Rebounds Per Game: Jaheim Lewis, 7.6
Field goal percentage: Arterio Williams, 566
Three Point Percentage: Payton Prime, .474
Free throw Percentage: Bakhi Rogers-Robinson, 873
Assists: Hakeem Wilson, 43
Steals: Two Tied for 28
Blocks: Raymond Ezike, 41


SCOUTING NEW JERSEY CITY
The Gothic Knights are currently right outside of contention for the NJAC Tournament as they stand in seventh with a record of 7-8 in the conference and a 12-10 record overall. They have lost their last three games, most recently suffering a 66-55 defeat at William Paterson on Saturday.

SERIES HISTORY
Montclair and NJCU renew their historic NJAC rivalry for the 183^rd time on Wednesday evening. The Red Hawks hold the series advantage with a record of 101-81.

LAST MEETING
In their last meeting earlier in the year on January 8, New Jersey City snapped a six-game losing streak against Montclair when they downed the Red Hawks, 80-74

UP NEXT
Montclair State University will remain on the road when they travel to take on Kean on Saturday, February 15 at 1:00 pm.