Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University men's basketball team clinched its first New Jersey Athletic Conference regular season title since the 1981-82 season on Wednesday night, as it took down The College of New Jersey 84-70 at the Panzer Athletic Center.

The Red Hawks earned home court advantage for the duration of the 2024-25 NJAC Tournament, and will host a semifinal on Tuesday, February 25.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (19-6, 14-4 NJAC) held a slight 10-9 edge after the opening four minutes as RYAN CASSELS knocked down a shot from distance. TCNJ answered with the next seven points to open a two-possession lead at the 13 minute mark of the stanza. MYLES PRIMAS ended the run with a free throw, but the Lions countered with four more points to take a nine-point advantage approaching the halfway mark of the first.
• JACOB MORALES connected on a three-point make shortly after, and MIKE JACKSON hit a jumper in the paint and a three-pointer to cut the game to one with 9:25 on the clock. KABRIEN GOSS would later tie the game on a three, but the Lions reopened a slim advantage until AHMAD ROBERTSON tied the game again at 27 with six and a half minutes remaining.
• Montclair rattled off 10 consecutive points, including back-to-back threes from HENRY MEYERS and Morales, to race out to a double-digit lead with under four minutes on the clock. The Lions cut the lead in half, and the Red Hawks answered again with a layup from KUNGA TSERING and another three from Jackson to reopen the 10-point lead. Morales hit a three in the final moments, but TCNJ knocked down a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to go into the break down nine.
• TCNJ kicked off the second half strong, cutting the deficit to one possession 80 seconds in. The visitors would later make the score 48-46, but Morales answered with a three on the next possession to push the lead back to two possessions. With the score 55-53 with 13 minutes remaining, Montclair outscored TCNJ 20-2 over the next six minutes to balloon the margin to 20. 
• The Lions made one final offensive push, cutting into the deficit to come within 14 at the 3:31 mark of the second half. Morales knocked in another shot from beyond the arc, and Jackson used a tip-in layup to push the game back to 19 with under two minutes on the clock. TCNJ recorded the game's final five points, but Montclair sealed the home victory to close out the regular season. 

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Montclair's regular season title marked its first since the 1981-82 season, where they won the league in back-to-back campaigns.
• The Red Hawks finished atop the conference with 14 wins during the regular season, which ranks second in program history, one shy of the 15 collected in 1983-84 and 2022-23.
• Montclair closed out the regular season with victories in 11 of its final 12 contests dating back to January 11.
• The Red Hawks have won 41 regular season conference games over the last three seasons, and their streak of 12 or more NJAC wins a season during that stretch is the longest in program history.
• Morales finished with a game-high 25 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field and 5-for-9 shooting from distance. He has totaled 20 or more points in four of his last five contests and has 10 throughout the season.
• Jackson notched 15 points as the other Red Hawk in double-figures. Flanagan stuffed the stat sheet, as he collected five points, six rebounds, seven assists, and three steals. 
• As a team, Montclair shot 47 percent from the field and 40 percent from three. They also held an advantage of eight in the rebounding margin and forced 17 turnovers defensively.
• The game also marked the team's Senior Night, as the program honored Flanagan, Jackson, QUANTAVIOUS ROGERS, HENRY MEYERS, GRANT HOLBROOK, FRANCISCO PAULINO, and LUIS ARMAS.

FROM THE COURT

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UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will host a semifinal of the 2024-25 NJAC Tournament on Tuesday, February 25, and will await the winner of #4 Kean versus #5 TCNJ. Tip-off from the Panzer Athletic Center is scheduled for 7:00 PM.