Montclair, NJ- For the second year in a row, the #10 Montclair State men's basketball team will play host for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament on Friday and Saturday. The Red Hawks will face off against Maine-Farmington, with the matchup of Yeshiva and Bates preceding them.
 
GAME INFO
Matchups inside the Panzer Athletic Center will start with Yeshiva and Bates at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, with Montclair facing Maine-Farmington at 5:15 p.m. The winner of both games will advance to Saturday at a time to be determined based on Friday's results. Live coverage of the game can be found at monclairathletics.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Montclair and TCNJ fought for the NJAC crown this past Saturday, where a second-half comeback and a made shot in the final seconds of the game secured the conference title for the Lions, 83-81. The Red Hawks (25-2) opened red hot from beyond the arc, as three-pointers from JACOB MORALES and KABRIEN GOSS gave the home side an early 6-4 edge. Goss drained another on the next trip up the floor and would extend the margin to six on his third long-range shot of the game, making the score 12-6 two and a half minutes in. As the teams continued to trade baskets, CRISTIAN NICHOLSON connected on a three-pointer of his own to push the lead to seven shortly after. TCNJ used a 7-0 run over the next minute to vault into the lead, but a pair of makes from the home side helped them regain a four-point advantage. Down four with 12 minutes on the clock, the Lions once again equalized on a jumper as the half approached its midway point. With TCNJ holding a slim 30-29 lead at the 8:10 mark, AHMAD ROBERTSON slotted a pass to RYAN CASSELS, who sank a three to push the home side back in front. The Lions countered with the leveler on the next possession with a driving layup, but Cassels and ANDREW MARTIN combined for the next four points to push the Red Hawks back in front a minute later. Over the next two minutes, the visitors answered once again with the game's next six points to nudge in front by a possession. Morales converted a pull-up jumper shortly after, and MYLES PRIMAS rocketed in a dunk after gathering a steal to kickstart what would be a 10-4 scoring run for Montclair, going into halftime with the score 46-42. As the margin held at four after the opening minute of the second stanza, Morales drove to the basket for a layup, and Cassels knocked down a three-pointer off a feed from Nicholson at the 17:35 mark to expand the lead to nine for the Red Hawks. Back-to-back buckets from TCNJ brought them back within two possessions before CHRISTIAN CEVIS converted a driving layup to answer. Cassels found Martin for a corner three-pointer to create the game's first double-digit lead with 16 minutes remaining, and Primas would later increase the gap to 12 with 13:05 left. The Lions would answer with a 7-0 run over the next two and a half minutes to get within five points, a run halted by a layup from Nicholson on the next possession. Goss slotted a pass to Morales with seven minutes on the clock to make the score 70-62, but TCNJ climbed back into the contest once again with eight of the next nine points to make it a one-point game with just under six minutes on the clock. As the difference sat at two, a few minutes later, Cevis found Primas for a layup, and Goss drained a three-pointer to expand the lead to seven with 3:02 remaining, forcing a timeout from the Lions. The visitors utilized their third 7-0 stretch of the contest over the next 90 seconds to equalize at 79 points. Goss connected on a pull-up jumper on the next possession to put the Red Hawks back in front, but TCNJ scored the final four points of the afternoon, including a basket with seven seconds remaining, to seal the victory.

TEAM LEADERS
MONTCLAIR STATE (25-2, 17-1 NJAC)
Points Per Game: JACOB MORALES, 19.0
Rebounds Per Game: JACOB MORALES, 6.0
Field goal percentage: KUNGA TSERING, .640
Three Point Percentage: AHMAD ROBERTSON, .490
Free throw Percentage: KABRIEN GOSS, .870
Assists: KABRIEN GOSS, 156
Steals: CRISTIAN NICHOLSON, 49
Blocks: MYLES PRIMAS, 23
 
MAINE-FARMNGTON (22-5, 17-1 NAC)
Points Per Game: Zach McLaughlin, 25.8
Rebounds Per Game: Jason Reynolds, 15.5
Field goal percentage: Gabe Michaud, .594
Three Point Percentage: Zach McLaughlin, .404
Free throw Percentage: Brayden St. Pierre, .806
Assists: Gabe Michaud, 165
Steals: Gabe Michaud, 38
Blocks: Two Tied at 15
 
YESHIVA (20-8, 16-0 SKYLINE)
Points Per Game: Zevi Samet, 23.3
Rebounds Per Game: Yoav Oselka, 8.1
Field goal percentage: Yoav Oselka, .577
Three Point Percentage: Zevi Samet, .403
Free throw Percentage: Zevi Samet, .867
Assists: Yair Dovrat, 141
Steals: Yoav Oselka, 45
Blocks: Yair Dovrat, 19
 
BATES (18-8, 5-5 NESCAC)
Points Per Game: Babacar Pouye, 14.5
Rebounds Per Game: Babacar Pouye, 7.9
Field goal percentage: Babacar Pouye, .532
Three Point Percentage: Brady Coyne, .390
Free throw Percentage: Babacar Pouye, .805
Assists: Sean O'Leary, 67
Steals: Brady Coyne, 25
Blocks: Babacar Pouye, 29
 
SCOUTING MAINE-FARMINGTON
The Beavers enter this showdown with a 22-5 overall record and went 17-1 in North Atlantic Conference play this season. Farmington entered its conference tournament as the one seed and cruised to a conference championship with wins against SUNY Cobleskill (94-63) and Maine-Presque Isle to earn an automatic bid to the tournament. It was also their first conference championship win since 2010.
 
SCOUTING YESHIVA
The Macabees earned their way to the NCAA Tournament through a 20-8 overall record and an undefeated conference record of 16-0. As the top seed in the Skyline Conference Tournament, they defeated Old Westbury (91-52), Purchase (86-71), and Farmingdale State (79-72) to secure back-to-back conference titles. Yeshiva also qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season, but saw an early exit with an 83-66 loss against Tufts in the first round.
 
SCOUTING BATES
The Bobcats come into this weekend's slate with an 18-8 overall record and a 5-5 record in NESCAC conference play. They entered the conference tournament as the fifth seed, where they downed Amherst by a score of 70-59 before falling to top-seeded Wesleyan, 66-49. Bates earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, marking its first tournament appearance since the 2014-15 season.
 
SERIES HISTORIES
The Red Hawks and the Beavers meet for the first time on Friday. A win for Bates would also be a first-time showdown between the two teams. If Montclair faced off with Yeshiva, they would face off for the sixth time in their series, with Montclair holding a 5-0 record.
 
LAST MEETING
The Red Hawks and the Maccabees faced off last on February 9, 2015. Montclair came away with an 85-83 road win in that matchup
 
UP NEXT
The winner of this weekend will advance to the "Sweet Sixteen" against the victor of the  Emory/Mississippi University for Women/Roanoke/Rhodes pod, with a time, date, and location to be determined on Sunday.