Wayne, NJ – The #5 Montclair State University men's basketball team continued its unbeaten run with a 96-82 road victory over William Paterson on Wednesday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (19-0, 12-0 NJAC) tallied back-to-back three-point shots from MYLES PRIMAS and KABRIEN GOSS to tally six of the opening eight points. William Paterson countered immediately with the game's next 12 points to build a 14-6 advantage at the 16:34 mark of the half. CRISTIAN NICHOLSON ended the run with a shot from beyond the arc off a steal from AHMAD ROBERTSON, but the Pioneers continued to battle early, leading 18-11 with 13:25 on the clock. A quick 5-0 spurt from the Red Hawks over the next minute cut the difference to one possession, as William Paterson answered with five of the next seven to reopen a five-point lead as the half crossed its midway point. A pair of buckets three minutes later extended the home lead to match a game-high eight, forcing a Montclair timeout.
• Coming out of the stoppage, RYAN CASSELS drained a three off a feed from KUNGA TSERING, who converted two free throws to cut the deficit to one possession, 32-29. The Montclair run continued on the ensuing possession as Primas forced a turnover and notched a layup on the other end. Trailing by four with five minutes on the clock, Goss connected on a shot from long distance, kickstarting a major run for the visitors over the remainder of the half. After generating turnovers on back-to-back possessions, the Red Hawks received three-pointers from ANDREW MARTIN and Goss to vault ahead by five points. Tsering tallied Montclair's next six points to help build the lead to double-digits, with Nicholson sinking a shot from long range to balloon the lead to 13. In all, the visitors amassed a 20-5 scoring run over the final five minutes of the frame to go into the break up 51-40.
• William Paterson came out of the half strong, totaling six consecutive points before CHRISTIAN CEVIS halted the run with a shot from distance. After Tsering reopened a double-digit lead, the Pioneers climbed back to within seven, 59-52, with 14:12 on the clock. Free throws from Morales and Robertson nudged the Red Hawk lead back to 11, with the defense forcing two more turnovers leading to a layup from Robertson and three from Goss to balloon the lead to 68-52 with just under 12 minutes left. The home side mounted another rally, scoring 11 of the next 13 points over the next two and a half minutes to trim the difference to seven.
• After Nicholson hit another three-pointer on the next possession, the Pioneers continued their run with five more points to make the score 73-68 with 7:58 on the clock. The Red Hawks kicked off what would be a 15-2 scoring run with a shot from beyond the arc for Robertson, who would tally eight points during the stretch. Free throws from Robertson and Primas helped steady the lead as the game approached its final minutes, with Primas rattling in a dunk with 1:49 remaining to make the advantage 19. The Pioneers notched the game's next seven points, but a pair of free throws helped seal the victory for the Red Hawks.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Montclair extended its season-opening win streak to 19 games, remaining the only undefeated Division III team in the country. Across all three levels, the Red Hawks are one of five remaining unbeatens. 
• At 19 games, the undefeated run for the Red Hawks is the fourth-best streak in the history of the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
• The Red Hawks put five in double-figures, led by Tsering and Robertson, who each accumulated 19 points. For Tsering, it marked a new season-high in both points and rebounds, as he collected nine to lead the Red Hawks while finishing a perfect 5-for-5 from the field. Both have notched seven double-digit performances during the campaign. 
• Nicholson and Goss compiled 15 points each, with Goss tallying five three-point makes to increase his total to 57 on the season, which is tied for the team lead. Primas totaled 13 points to round out the group, his ninth double-figure game this season.
• With his five assists for the night, Goss moved into 15th in program history in just his second season, passing Brian O'Connell and sitting at 218. He has surpassed 100 assists in back-to-back campaigns to kick off his collegiate career.
• For the game, the Red Hawks shot 41 percent from the field and 44 percent from deep. In the first half, they shot a red hot 57 percent from the floor and 69 percent from three-point range.
• The Red Hawks have surpassed 95 points in 10 games this season, averaging an NJAC-leading 92.8 per contest to rank ninth in the nation.
• Defensively, Montclair forced 22 turnovers and generated 34 points on the other end. They have created 20 or more turnovers in 13 of their 19 games this season.

FROM THE COURT

"Proud of the way our guys fought. Road games in the NJAC are never easy and William Paterson battled us the whole night. Kunga and Ahmad gave us great minutes off the bench. We need to keep looking to get better as we continue with each game." - Head Coach Justin Potts

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will conclude their stretch of four road games over their last five on Saturday, January 31, as they will travel to take on Rutgers-Camden. Tip-off from Camden, NJ is scheduled for 1:00 PM.