Montclair, NJ – Behind a pair of three-pointers in the final six seconds of the game, the #10 Montclair State University men's basketball team stormed back to defeat Stockton 94-92 on Saturday afternoon at the Panzer Athletic Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (14-0, 7-0 NJAC) fell behind 8-5 after the first two minutes of the contest, but equalized shortly after on a three-point shot from CRISTIAN NICHOLSON. The two sides traded buckets the next four trips up the court before Stockton reopened their lead at 19-12 with 13 minutes remaining in the half. A minute later, AHMAD ROBERTSON connected on a long distance attempt and CHRISTIAN CEVIS converted an and-one opportunity to cut the margin to three at 23-20. Montclair continued to push, with Cevis draining a three to level the game and KABRIEN GOSS notching a layup to give the Red Hawks the lead at the midway point of the period.
• Stockton collected the game's next five points over the next 90 seconds to nudge back in front 28-25 before the Red Hawks countered with a 6-2 run of their own, capped off by a three from KUNGA TSERING to push the home side in front by one at the 6:51 mark. The Ospreys built a 12-2 stretch over the next three minutes to go up by nine, 44-35, with three minutes in the half. Trailing by eight a minute later, a driving layup from MYLES PRIMAS brought Montclair within two possessions, and JACOB MORALES knocked down a shot from beyond the arc to make it a three-point contest. Stockton used a layup in the waning moments of the stanza to make the halftime score 47-42.
• An 8-2 run coming out of the break pushed the visitors ahead by double-digits at 11 after the opening 120 seconds. The Red Hawks answered with seven consecutive points to cut the deficit back to two possessions, but an extended 14-5 stretch by Stockton over the next three and a half minutes pushed the score to 69-56 with 12:29 on the clock. Down by 10 a few minutes later, Nicholson drove to the basket to trim the deficit to single digits. On the next possession, Robertson found Morales for a three to cut the game to 77-72
• With Stockton holding a 86-78 lead with 3:12 left, Morales connected on another three-pointer to begin the final push for the Red Hawks. Down by six, Robertson converted a layup with 1:14 on the clock, and a dunk from Primas coming out of a timeout made it a 90-88 game with just under a minute remaining. After Stockton hit a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left, the Red Hawks called a timeout and would climb to within one on a shot from beyond the arc from Morales. On the ensuing possession, Montclair forced a turnover on the in-bounds pass leading to a three-pointer from Goss in front of the home bench to vault Montclair ahead by two, a lead they did not relinquish on the game's final trip up the court.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• With the victory, the Red Hawks matched the longest winning streak in program history (done twice), along with the best start to a season (1969-70), at 14 games. They are one of four unbeaten teams in the country, and are tied for the nation-lead in wins.
• Morales led the way offensively for the Red Hawks with 20 points, hitting five shots from long range. It marked his seventh 20-point performance of the campaign, and fifth with five or more three-point makes.
• Robertson posted his second consecutive strong performance off the bench for Montclair with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field. 
• Tsering, in eight minutes coming off the bench, poured in 13 points to match his season-best set against Rutgers-Camden on December 13.
• Primas tallied 11 points and five boards, with Cevis representing the final Red Hawk in double-figures with 10 points.
• For the game, Montclair shot 43 percent from the field and 38 percent from beyond the arc. Defensively, they forced 20 turnovers for the 10th time this season, leading to 30 points on the other end, including the go-ahead basket.
• The Red Hawks have surpassed 90 points in 10 of their 14 games this season, averaging 93 per game to rank 10th in the nation.

FROM THE COURT

"Great college basketball game. Credit to Stockton, I thought they played great all day. I'm proud of our guys' perseverance and ability to keep fighting. Big time shot by Kabe." - Head Coach Justin Potts

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will host The College of New Jersey in a rematch of last year's NJAC Tournament Semifinals on Wednesday, January 14. Tip-off from the Panzer Athletic Center is scheduled for 7:00 PM.