Montclair, NJ- The newly top-ranked team in all of the nation in Division III, Montclair State University men's basketball team, is at home on Wednesday when it prepares for an NJAC matchup against NJCU. 

GAME INFO
Tip-off from the Panzer Athletic Center is set for 1:00 p.m. Live coverage of the game can be found at monclairathletics.com.

REGULAR-SEASON CHAMPIONS CLINCHING SCENARIO
The Red Hawks will claim the NJAC Regular-Season Championship for the second season in a row with a win or a TCNJ loss on Wednesday. 

LAST TIME OUT
Montclair earned a hard-fought victory over Stockton on the road on Saturday afternoon by a score of 104-73. The Red Hawks (22-0, 15-0 NJAC) raced out of the gate red hot from beyond the arc, hitting three of their first four. Trailing 6-3 two minutes in, KABRIEN GOSS drained a pull-up three-pointer, generated a steal on the ensuing possession, and connected on another to vault the visitors in front by three. That shot kickstarted a 11-2 scoring run for the Red Hawks, highlighted by a pair of threes from RYAN CASSELS, to increase the advantage to nine at the 14:38 mark of the period. Stockton battled to within five a minute later, with the Red Hawks answering back with the game's next five, capped off by a dunk from MYLES PRIMAS, to make the margin double-digits for the first time. With the half crossing its midway marker, Primas slipped a pass to JACOB MORALES for a layup, with a jumper from KEVIN BECK on the next possession nudging the lead back to 10. The pair of buckets were the start of what would be a 17-2 extended stretch for Montclair over the next four minutes, with six different Red Hawks contributing baskets. After a turnover from the Ospreys, CRISTIAN NICHOLSON pulled up for a long-distance shot to make the score 39-18 in favor of the visitors with six minutes on the clock. Two and a half minutes later, AHMAD ROBERTSON connected on back-to-back three-pointers to balloon the difference to 24 points, forcing a Stockton timeout. The Red Hawks continued to push offensively with an and-one conversion from Primas, headlining another run from the visitors, who scored 10 of the final 12 points of the half to go into the break up 59-30. The Montclair margin surpassed 30 in the early stages of the second half on a pull-up jumper from Morales and three-pointer from Goss. Stockton accumulated six-straight points to climb back within 64-37 at the 16:20 mark before Nicholson drained another three on the next trip up the floor. That basket marked the start of a 8-0 spurt from the visitors, with a long distance make from Goss and driving layup from ANDREW MARTIN to make the lead 35 with under 15 minutes on the clock. The Ospreys answered once again, tallying seven of the game's next 10 points, a run halted by a layup from Beck off a feed from Nicholson. After a Stockton turnover, Morales connected on a three-pointer, with Beck recording another bucket two possessions later. The Montclair defense generated another turnover from the home side, leading to a shot from beyond the arc from Beck to make the margin 41. Stockton trimmed the difference to 89-53 as the game hit the 8:18 mark before MASON THEAR hit a three-pointer a minute after. Thear continued to shine offensively over the next two minutes, connecting on a turnaround jumper and pull-up three pointer to catapult the Red Hawks across the century mark with five and a half minutes remaining. SHANE RYAN notched a free throw shortly after to extend the advantage to a game-high 45 points, as the Ospreys closed the contest on a 16-2 run but could not climb back any closer.


TEAM LEADERS
MONTCLAIR STATE (22-0, 15-0 NJAC)
Points Per Game: JACOB MORALES, 18.4
Rebounds Per Game: JACOB MORALES, 6.1
Field goal percentage: KUNGA TSERING, .667
Three Point Percentage: CRISTIAN NICHOLSON, .475
Free throw Percentage: KABRIEN GOSS, .861
Assists: KABRIEN GOSS, 132
Steals: CRISTIAN NICHOLSON, 42
Blocks: MYLES PRIMAS, 19

NJCU (13-9, 9-6 NJAC)
Points Per Game: Bakhi Rogers-Robinson, 20.2
Rebounds Per Game: Donovan Crawford, 8.0
Field goal percentage: Arterio Williams, .505
Three Point Percentage: Mekhi Philogene, .400
Free throw Percentage: Bakhi Rogers-Robinson, .849
Assists: Bakhi Rogers-Robinson, 45
Steals: Bakhi Rogers-Robinsson, 58
Blocks: Raymond Ezike, 15

SCOUTING NJCU
The Gothic Knights enter this matchup with a 13-9 record on the year and are still jockeying for their spot in the NJAC with a 9-6 NJAC record, good enough for fourth currently.  They last beat William Paterson on Saturday by a score of 83-56 on their home floor. In the 2024-25 season, the Gothic Knights finished 14-13 and 8-10 in NJAC play and were just outside of NJAC playoff contention. They did qualify for ECAC Tournament play, where they bested Alvernia 67-57 in the quarterfinals, before falling to Salisbury, 69-65 in the semifinals. According to the 2025-26 NJAC Preseason poll, New Jersey City was slated to finish seventh this season.   

SERIES HISTORY
Montclair and NJCU square off for the 185th time in their storied rivalry. The Red Hawks are in control of the series at 103-81. They have won eight of the last nine contests, including a current two-game winning streak. 

LAST MEETING
The Red Hawks and the Gothic Knights faced off last on January 7, 2026, where Montclair earned a 97-70 victory. 

UP NEXT
Montclair State University will honor its four seniors for Senior Day, before its final home contest of the season against Kean on Saturday, February 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.