Ewing, NJ…The College of New Jersey men\’s basketball team hosted the Red Hawks of Montclair State University on Saturday in NJAC action. The Red Hawks came away with the 70-63 NJAC win to improve to 8-6 overall and 2-1 in the NJAC, while TCNJ drops to 4-8 overall and 0-2 in the league. MSU would get a game-high 16 points from freshman guard James Williams (Englewood, NJ/Dwight Morrow) while sophomore guard Mike Hern (Hamburg, NJ/Wallkill Valley) to help the Red Hawks to the victory.
MSU led 30-28 at the break after pair of key three-point baskets from TCNJ\’s junior guard Jeff Molinelli (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley) and a score from junior forward Adam Gonzalez (Rochelle Park, NJ/Hackensack) to bring the Lions within two after trailing 30-23 with 1:42 left to play before the break. Molinelli led the Lions with nine first half points.
MSU\’s Williams added 10 points in the first half and was an impressive 5-6 from the floor to pace MSU\’s efforts that included a team field goal percentage of 51.9% (14-27). The Red Hawks also held the Lions to just 36.7% from the floor in the first stanza and held a narrow 17-15 edge on the boards at the break. Williams finished hitting 8-of-9 shots from the floor and helped MSU finish the game with a 50.0% effort from the floor (26-52).
MSU emerged at the break and would hold the Lions scoreless for the first three minutes of the second half as they built a 36-31 lead as William Jett (Browns Mills, NJ/Pemberton) finally got a layup and a free throw to break the drought. TCNJ would tie the action at 40-40 with 13:50 left to play on a three-point field goal from sophomore guard Jay Frank (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial), but then MSU took over again with a 10-0 run and held a 50-40 lead at 9:43.
TCNJ did not go away and with 1:44 left only trailed by five down 60-55 after junior center Ryan Washington (Edison, NJ/JP Stevens) fouled out and the Lions hit two free throws.
MSU\’s sophomore guard Ken Dudley (Willingboro, NJ/Burlington Tech) hit two free throws with 1:02 left to give his team a 64-57 lead. TCNJ\’s senior guard Corey Gilmore (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield) hit two free throws at 58.2 seconds left and pulled the Lions within five again, down 64-59. The Red Hawks\’ Hern went to the line at 54.8 and hit one free throw to give MSU a 65-59 lead. After a pair of baskets from each team, TCNJ got the ball back with 37 seconds left and failed to collect the basket before MSU\’s Eric Johannesen (Matawan, NJ/St. John Vianney) would hit both of his two free throws at 27.8 seconds left and give his team a 69-61 lead. Hern returned to the line at 21.6 seconds and added one more point and gave his team a seven points lead.
For the Lions, senior guard Jeff Warner (Jackson, NJ/Jackson) added a team-leading 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while senior forward Mark Aziz (Hackettstown, NJ/West Morris Central) netted 14 points and Jett contributed 10 points.
TCNJ returns to action on Wednesday, January 16 travelling to Kean University for an 8 p.m. NJAC contest, while MSU hosts William Paterson the same night, also at 8 p.m.
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